


Lost In The Stone World

by cookieboo



Series: Brought Together by Stone [1]
Category: Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Comedy, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Science, slowburn, this is some serious slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 108,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22251913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookieboo/pseuds/cookieboo
Summary: Since the time of the Stone World rising, [ f/n ] was unable to believe that something like this were to ever happen again. Will she ever get a chance to meet with her childhood friends again? Or will she stay idle and wait for her knight in a make shift white lab coat save her?**This story contains mature content. Please read at your own risk.**(There's a bit of Tsukasa Shishio x Reader in here too!)
Relationships: Ishigami Senkuu/Reader
Series: Brought Together by Stone [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601845
Comments: 39
Kudos: 371





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody! Thank you again for being interested in this fanfic series!
> 
> Just a quick heads up, there's going to be a massive power outage within my area and I won't have power for about 5-7 days :< so despite updating, it won't be as consistent as the JJBA ones (even though those ones take a pretty long time as well to write OTL)
> 
> Also another thing is that throughout the power outage, I'm going to be reading the manga as well so then majority of the facts are going to be true :> (I'm also not that knowledgable with science so I will probably refer back to the manga/anime A LOT)
> 
> Thanks again for being interested & I hope you enjoy the story!

“[ l/n ]-san, did you get this question right?”

“Hmm..I got the answer right but the way I showed my work was a bit different.” 

[ f/n ] was reading a book from her desk after finishing her class work when a student that sat behind her had asked her a question. She turned to look at Shishio Tsukasa, the wrestling star of the academy and also the most intimidating student there was. [ f/n ] has at least shared one class with him, and the only person who was able to communicate with him without cowering away. Tsukasa would look at her with kindness, feeling his heart swell just the slightest as he observes the way [ f/n ] just pulls her hair back behind her ear. Oblivious to this, [ f/n ] looks up from her work and catches him, causing him to clear his throat slightly and look down at their shared papers.

“Did you see how I did it?”

“Yeah..I didn’t think we were allowed to use that method though.”

“Well..I was unsure about it too but it was worth a shot.” [ f/n ] laughed as she places her elbow on Tsukasa’s desk, allowing herself to rest her chin on her hand. The sound of the bell chime echoed along the campus grounds, all of the other students leaving while also packing their things to head back home. After hearing the familiar chime, she looks around as her friends had started to call out to her and wave at her direction. Complying, she smiles as she turns around to pack her own things, Tsukasa still gazing at her as she grabs her bag and starts to place her books inside. 

“[ l/n ]-san, are you doing anything after school?”

“Hm? Well..I was going to meet up with my team captain in a little bit and probably head home..why?”

“..do you--”

“[ f/n ]-chan!! [ f/n ]-chan, I--oh, I’m sorry!”

Both Tsukasa and [ f/n ] turn to look at who was calling her name, another student abruptly opening the door to her classroom and witnessing her talking to the larger male. Slightly standing in an awkward position, [ f/n ] only laughs at him before turning back to Tsukasa and giving him a small smile.

“He’s probably going to need my help so I might not be free. But we can hang out sometime after school tomorrow?”

“..yeah.”

“Alright, I’ll see you then, Shishio-kun.” Gathering the last of her things, she gives him a wave before meeting up with the student by the door frame. He looks at Tsukasa and gives him a bow before catching up to the [ h/c ] haired girl. Tsukasa watches them leave before the door closes and he was left by himself, sighing as he sat back down. 

“I never knew that you and Shishio Tsukasa were close like that.”

“I wouldn’t say close, but I’ve known him all throughout highschool. He’s been in at least one of my classes since we started here.”

“Man he’s so scary though..”

“He’s not that bad as you think, Taiju. He’s pretty nice.” [ f/n ] chuckles as she was walking alongside the taller male, a sigh leaving his lips as he slouches for only a moment before standing up nice and tall. Compared to Tsukasa, [ f/n ] has known Taiju for as long as she could remember. Along with this brute male, she was also aware of the gigantic crush he’s had on another girl she’s known since childhood. [ f/n ] adjusts her grip on her school bag, looking up at Taiju as they were approaching the science lab of the campus. 

“So is it finally time Taiju? Are you going to confess your feelings to the cute little Yuzuriha-chan?” Taiju inhales before slamming the door open, causing another huge ruckus. And as loud as he can, he declares what he’s going to do.

“That’s right! After all these years, I’m going to confess to Yuzuriha and tell her that I love her!! Senku! Senku, you’re going to support me, aren't you??”

A loud click was heard as a student with pale blonde hair with green tips at the end looks over with a neutral expression as he connects a flask towards a metal contraption. He looked so uninterested as Taiju loudly walks in, continuing to mention how he was going to confess to Yuzuriha today.

“Of course I’m going to support you, you idiot. Ten billion percent, I would.”

“Really?? Aw, thanks Senku!!” The said student then picks up another flask filled with liquid, a nasty smirk etching on his face as he slightly stirs the contents by turning the bottle.

“If you drink this liquid though, there’s a high chance that Yuzuriha will accept your love confession. If you think about it, it’s kind of like a love potion.”

Taiju glances at the strange liquid before tipping it over and dumping the contents down the drain. He places the bottle down before almost saluting him and redeclaring his statement.

“No thanks, Senku but I appreciate it!! I’m going to head out now, wish me luck!!”

The said student huffs before quickly leaving the classroom. All of the students that had witnessed the scene had watched him leave before turning to look at the boy genius continue to play with the contraption he made. 

“Did you really give him a love potion, Ishigami-kun?”

“No, something like that doesn’t exist are you kidding? It’s just gasoline.” And just like that, he tossed a match to which sink Taiju used, watching the liquid engulfed in flames. 

“Ehh? Really? I was hoping that there would be such a thing.”

Senku slightly jumped from the familiar voice, turning around to stare at a [ h/c ] haired girl and her [ e/c ] colored eyes looking up at him. Senku blinks as his cheeks slightly turn a pinkish hue before he quickly averts his attention elsewhere. 

“Y-You don’t really believe in that type of stuff, do you [ f/n ]?”

“Of course I do! There’s nothing wrong with believing.” [ f/n ] laughs as she inspects the contraption that Senku was working on, slightly looking up from his hands to watch her observing the machine. He notices the books that she was carrying, the different types of genres from fiction to books about marine life. If there was one thing that Senku had adored about the girl in front of him was that she loves to learn. Senku continues to gaze at her before she looks up from inspecting the contraption, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she looks up to make eye contact with him. 

As well as knowing Taiju since childhood, Senku was also apart of the bunch that [ f/n ] had met many years ago. Despite that Senku is a genius and enjoyed making new things here and there, [ f/n ] was fascinated by the passion that he would display for every project. Despite not having the knowledge that he has, [ f/n ] would listen to him vent about all of the new discoveries he had. And even though [ f/n ] wouldn’t know it, Senku’s heart would only swell at how much he started to adore the [ h/c ] haired girl. 

“Hey! It’s happening!”

Catching their attention, a few students started to gather around the window sill as they saw Taiju approach the girl wrapping her ribbon around the camphor tree branch. Both Senku and [ f/n ] look out the window, a group of the chem students already making bets if Taiju’s confession was actually going to happen. Without [ f/n ] realizing Senku had left, he nudged her arm with a drink from the vending machine, looking down at it before accepting it. She looks up at him, smiling just a bit and thanking him before opening the can of milk tea. 

“I bet 10,000 yen that his confession _isn’t_ going to flop and will work.”

“Ehh!? That much!?”

[ f/n ] only laughs as she continues to sip at her drink, looking down at Taiju as he was comically struggling on getting the words out. [ f/n ] had also started to fiddle with the can between her hands, a slight blush coating her cheeks as she looks away from the main subject. She sneaks a glance towards the student genius right beside her, preoccupied with opening his energy drink and taking a swig at it. 

“Hey..Senku?”

“Hm?” Pulling his attention away from their childhood friend, he adjusts his focus to look at her. As he was observing her little quirks, he couldn’t help but feel nervous and feel his heart skip a beat once he saw an obvious blush coating her cheeks. Senku pulls his can away from his lips as his main focus was on [ f/n ] now, her eyes that were avoiding his now looking at him. 

“If you’re free after school..there’s something I wanted to talk to you about..is that okay..?”

“Yeah..that’s fine. I..”

But before Senku could continue, something had started to shine from behind [ f/n ] and causing him to look pass her and out the window. [ f/n ] saw Senku’s shadow grow behind him as she too turns around to gaze at the green light, her eyes widening when the light had started to grow bigger. 

“[ f/n ]!!” Turning away from the light, she turns around to see Senku trying to reach out to her, but had only witnessed his body turning into stone before everything went black. She starts to hyperventilate just a bit, trying her best to move her body but was unable to do so. She could feel some of her tears prick her eyes as she continues to try and move but that didn’t work in her favor. 

_‘Senku!? Senku!!’_


	2. Chapter 2

The time that has been passed was unknown. However, with one individual, he continued to count until the time was right for him to finally break free from the stone that had captured all of humanity. The sound of something being broken is heard, and soon the cracks had started to increase until a voice was heard. Senku, after being trapped in stone had finally broken free and squinting at the bright sunlight that shone from up above.

“Finally..I’m free..”

He groaned as he takes the chance and sits up, looking at his surroundings as the stone remains continue to shed from his body. He gazes at the tall trees, the massive land of moss and vines scattered everywhere as animals were roaming free. 

“If my calculations are correct..It should be April 5th, 5736..So it was approximately 3,700 years that had passed since the stone world began.”

Senku sighs as he finally gets up from his stiff position, giving his body a stretch as he looks down at where his body had laid. Taking in the form, he had started to trace it with some stones all the while still inspecting the stone fragments that had shed from his body. 

“I guess I wasn’t the only one that was infected by this light..what in the world..?”

After finishing his task, he looks around and approached a large tree to gather some spare leaves and vines to help cover his private parts. After securing the rope, he turns back to look at a suspecting stone hand coming from the ground and exhaling through his nose. 

“I might need to come back to that later. First I need to see if I can get myself some essentials..”

And thus, began Senku’s journey of survival. It had started out rough with the proper knowledge he had, he was able to get himself started with a small camp base. Before the day was coming to a close, it was essential for him to start a fire to keep himself warm. After successfully doing so, he sat by the firepit and exhaled loudly all the while letting his tired conscious kick in.

“Jesus, all of this freakin work for one person is insane!! I can barely manage one day, what more for how long I’m going to survive!”

As he could feel his mind running in circles, he gazes up at the star-lit sky as the fire was slowly going out. Gazing up, he couldn’t help but remember the last moments of humanity before it fell. The last thing he saw was the color of [ e/c ]. The color of [ f/n ]’s worried eyes before his vision was engulfed into black. His hands clenched at his side as he raises his fist towards the sky, opening his hand again to gaze at it.

“Don’t worry [ f/n ]. Even in this stone world, I’ll find you.” Senku declared to himself, nodding to himself before grabbing the makeshift sleeping bag he made and calling it a night to rest.

After what seemed like months, Senku’s base had turned from a campsite into a full blown base. After finally finishing the last touches to his makeshift shovel, he looks at the original direction to where it had led towards the area that he saw from where he first woke up. Traveling that distance, he approaches the odd looking hand that was sticking out from the ground and had embodied the shovel into the dirt. 

“Just from the look of this hand, I can take a wild guess on who this might be.” After having all of the dirt dug out, Senku inhaled sharply as he gazed at the familiar stone statue while he had placed his shovel to the side. He chuckles to himself before leaning towards the lump of dirt and smirking at the statue.

“Well I never thought I’d be so glad to see you, you big oaf.” Senku claims as he started to poke at Taiju’s head. But as he was about to yell at the statue, he heard the distant noise of a droplet hitting the ground. Catching his attention elsewhere, he leaves the hole that he made and approached the cave that was off to his right. Gazing at the inside of it, he looks at the dripping liquid coming from the ceiling and also noticing the bats around the top as well.

“Wait..this is nitric acid!” Senku proclaimed as he gazed at all of the bats minding their own business. 

“Wait..that means that if the stone was technically a husk that was made from the outside..then that means there had to be something that had caused it to break from the outside as well..”

Senku had started to mumble to himself before he rubbed the back of his neck. Feeling a bit of the stone still attached to him, he tore a bit of hair with a piece of stone before placing it under the falling liquid coming from the ceiling. Staring at the piece at hand, he continued to watch it until the familiar sound of a crack was heard and the pieces of hair was broken free.

Senku grinned as he quickly went back to the campsite, grabbing a cup before letting it sit underneath where it landed. After waiting a few minutes, he snatched the cup and poured the same liquid over Taiju’s head and waiting for him to break free. However, as a few minutes pass by, Senku then stares at the statue with a confused look before starting to pour the liquid over other various statues. Senku groans as he looks at the empty cup and back at the Taiju statue in front of him.

“Well I guess we’re going to need another component to mix this nitric acid. Darn..if only I had some alcohol..”

Senku sighs as he places the cup down and starts to lift Taiju’s statue over to the cave. After placing him on the ground, Senku grunts as he stretches and places his hands on his hips. 

“Alright you big oaf. You better wake up soon or else you won’t have a chance to confess to Yuzuriha, ever. I don’t think a couple of years will stop you from not doing so, won’t it?”

Senku continues to speak as he smirks at the figure, his smile only fading as he looks towards the open space and leaving his arms at his side. He turns to take one final glance at Taiju’s body before looking back and leaving the cave to follow the river. After following the river north, he had stumbled upon a large tree, looking up at the massive size he had noticed a statue embedded into the trunk and vines of it. Senku smirked as he approaches the tree and glancing up at Yuzuriha as he took out his makeshift knife. 

“Considering that this is where that big oaf is going to go..might as well write him a small message.”

He starts to carve into the tree and making sure to rub the moss away from the message so it was legible. After writing the last character, he takes a step back to look at his work before glancing at the Yuzuriha statue that stood in front of him. It wasn’t until an idea crossed his mind was when Senku’s eyes had widened for a moment before following Yuzuriha’s eyesight. From what Senku could see, were the remains of the old school building that he studied at. He started to approach it slowly, noticing some of the statues that were standing near by.

“[ f/n ]..!”

Quickly running up to the statues, he searched through them and trying to distinguish where his childhood friend could be. After searching for what seemed like hours, he gazes at the last statue, only to find it broken at his feet and his whole body coming to a halt as he takes a seat on the ground. Senku sighs in defeat as he rubs the back of his neck, looking at the previous path he made all the while searching through the other statues.

As he continued to be swallowed by defeat, he heard the familiar sound of water crashing onto a bed of sand. Taking a look further from where he sat down, he started to walk pass all of the other trees and found himself at a beach, the moon shining bright at him as the water cascated its reflection. He takes a closer look as he sits himself down at the sand, pulling his knees close to his chest before having his arms rest against the top of it. 

“It’s only been about 3 months since I woke up and I was lucky enough to find Yuzuriha and Taiju while I’m still standing.”

Senku spoke to himself, allowing to listen to the sound of the ocean and the still quietness. He let his hand run through the sand a bit more before looking out towards the open water and shifting his gaze to look at the moon.

_“I won’t stop looking for you, [ f/n ]. I’ll do anything just to have you by my side again. I promise.”_


	3. Chapter 3

After the time Senku had found Taiju’s statue, it had been about an extra 6 months that had passed. And throughout the whole time, Senku was struggling on what was the key ingredient to creating the revival fluid. As Senku was away from his base gathering wood, he heard a series of pants as well as the sound of grass being crushed from underneath someone’s feet. He looks out to his right, seeing a familiar figure running in the distance. Senku wouldn’t admit it to anyone else but his excitement started to fill up his stomach as he went towards that direction to meet up with the gigantic oaf. And just like how he predicted, he looks down from where he stood as a smirk etched his lips from the look of his childhood friend standing before him. 

“You finally woke up, you big oaf.”

Taiju couldn’t hold in his emotions as he lunges forward, spreading his arms out wide to give Senku a tight hug. However, Senku’s eyes nearly bulged out of his eye sockets as he pushed him away, Taiju pouting for not having his love accepted.

“YOU IDIOT, DON’T HUG ME WHEN YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY BUTT NAKED!!”

Before Taiju could complain to Senku, the boy genius had turned around to have his back facing his childhood friend and catching his attention. Taiju looked at him before stopping himself from speaking, waiting for Senku to start.

“Did you..happen to find [ f/n ] on the way here..?”

Taiju’s shoulders slump just the slightest as he looks away, fiddling with his hands as he shakes his head towards his question. “I couldn’t find her, no. I’m sorry, Senku.”

Senku rubs the back of his neck, letting out a deep exhale before looking straight ahead. He looks back at Taiju before he sends him a smirk and pointing towards the direction of his made base.

“Alright Taiju, let’s head back home so then you can finally get to work.”

Taiju was soon assigned to do the hard labor amongst the both of them, helping with hunting and even fetching more materials in case they run out. As for Senku, he kept at it with finding out the main key ingredient of this revival fluid that will help revive everyone who became stone. And after all the hard work of filtering the grapes into wine, the final results were brought to light after one year of trial and error of making the magic fluid. Once they witnessed the bird break from its stone husk, Taiju loudly celebrated as both students watched the little sparrow fly around in the sky freely. Senku sighs tiredly as he sat himself down, sweat that coated his forehead now running along his temple as he glanced up at the sky. 

“One whole year since I have started my research. Now that I have that taken care of, there’s still a few areas where [ f/n ] could be..” Senku whispers to himself as he averts his vision towards his childhood friend who was still fascinated by the little bird. He rises from his seat before returning to his laboratory and opening a spare compartment with a map of the area surrounding the base. 

Senku exhales as he gazes at the pinned areas he had already looked, a frown etching his lips as he slightly scratches his chin before he sighs again. He looks down at his hands resting on the table before allowing the backdrop to go back to its original position. Senku could only close his eyes as he remembers the last memory of seeing [ f/n ], the slightly look of fear in her eyes as she turned around to face him before the world had turned into stone. 

Senku could feel anger slightly stirring inside of his head, his hands clenching together as his knuckles had started to turn white from clenching so tightly. At this point, Taiju had already walked inside the laboratory and witnessing his friend grieving to himself over their childhood friend. He slowly approached him, giving him a few seconds before resting his hand on his shoulder, the white haired male looking at him for a moment before looking away again.

“We’ll find [ f/n ]-chan soon, Senku. I don’t think she’ll be that far away from us.”

“Yeah..I can only try to continue searching for her. Leaving her in that dark world for that long is making me agitated.” 

Senku sighs again before rubbing the back of his neck and standing up straighter to meet Taiju’s eye. He places his hands on his hips before pointing at the revival fluid they had made together and sends a smirk his way before leaning over to grab his makeshift bag.

“While it’s still daylight, why don’t we revive Yuzuriha now?”

Hearing the familiar name, Taiju’s lips excitedly form a smile as he complies with Senku’s suggestion as he started to get himself ready for their travel. But before Senku and Taiju left, Senku looks back at the compartment before placing his hand over it and gently brushing the surface. He nods before exhaling softly and adjusting the bag on his back. As quickly as they started to pack, both students had set off to their journey towards the large camphor tree where Yuzuriha had stayed. 

Upon arriving, Senku was about to pull out the liquid from his bag and pour it over her head before Taiju gasped and lunges forward to poke Senku’s eyes. Senku grunts painfully as he lies on the ground, pressing his palms over his eyes as he slightly rolls around. 

“WAIT SENKU! YUZURIHA IS NAKED!!”

“Do you really think anyone is going to care if she’s naked in this world!? It’s not like she’ll have a dick hanging out!!”

“YUZURIHA DOESN’T HAVE A DICK!!”

“THAT’S NOT MY POINT, YOU BIG OAF!!”

As the two continued to bicker, the familiar sound of an animal growl was heard as their attentions were off each other but the lion that was soon approaching them. Senku and Taiju flinched from their spots as they were slowly backing up against the tree, the lions coming closer as their teeth were showing their malicious fangs. Taiju had reacted quickly and grabbed Yuzuriha from the tree, tossing the statue towards Senku’s direction. Senku was completely caught off guard but was able to catch Yuzuriha, looking at Taiju with a bewildered look as he tried his best to carry her.

“Senku! You take Yuzuriha and run back to the base! I’ll take care of the lions!”

“Are you an idiot? We need you! You can’t just take all the hits in this type of situation!” Taiju sweats as he looked around, noticing that the lions were really close on closing them in. But it wasn’t until an idea struck when he looked at a certain direction. He looks over at Senku, holding his hand out.

“Quick! Hand me the revival fluid!”

Senku reacted fast as he tossed him the clay bottle, watching Taiju make way towards a sitting statue that was nearby. He opened the cap and poured the contents over the head, watching the liquid flow all the way down. Taiju flinched when another lion had appeared, Senku and Taiju right beside each other as the circle was getting smaller. However, the familiar sound of stone breaking was heard as the male’s eyes were open and a deep voice resonated over the two of them. Taiju looks over with excitement but quickly looks serious as he tried his best to protect both Senku and Yuzuriha.

“Sorry! No time to explain! We’re living in a stone world right now and it’s been about 3700 years since that strange green light!”

“What’s the situation?” Senku quickly looks over his shoulder before averting back towards the lions and keeping his hold on the statue firm.

“We’re currently surrounded by lions, they are going to be coming from your 2 o’clock and 9 o’clock.”

“Alright.” And before their very eyes, the stone had completely broken from this man’s body as he stood in front of the two teens. Both Senku and Taiju watched in awe as he quickly shed the stone from his body before easily taking down the alpha lion with a single punch to its face. After witnessing their alpha being defeated, all of the other lions had fled in fright as the lion exhaled its last breath. Taiju was the first to break the silence, loudly proclaiming his awe as he watched the tall male lift the lion like nothing and place it on a flat surface.

“If you don’t mind, do either of you have anything sharp to cut this lion with? I would like to make use of it without having it go to waste.”

“Wow, are lions even edible??”

“They’re pretty tough when you eat it and they reek once you let it go bad but it doesn’t taste too bad.”

“You’ve eaten a lion Senku!?”

“Yup, when I went to Africa to study ebola.” Taiju screams at Senku for the odd behavior of a high school student before watching his childhood friend hand a sharp knife towards their new member of society. As he was cutting up the animal, he placed its fur along his shoulders as well as the meat off to the side to save for later. And with this, they had decided to return back to camp and set down the new materials they had received.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shishio Tsukasa, but you can call me Tsukasa.”

“Family names aren’t really that important in this new world so first names will be fine. I’m the sharp-minded one, Senku and that is the hard-working laborious, Taiju.” Taiju nods as he introduces himself and shaking Tsukasa’s hand excitedly.

“If you’re going to be working on the hard labor, while Senku works on the science behind all of our resources, then I will take care of the hunting. I will make sure that we will not go hungry at all.”

As Tsukasa had proclaimed his role, all three students had left towards the beach where they witnessed Tsukasa hunt for fish like nothing. Within minutes, he was able to have a spear full of fish filling up the weapon. Taiju cheered loudly as he tried his best to hunt alongside Tsukasa, returning back to the ocean’s shore and placing the spear right beside Senku. Senku holds his hand up as they exchange a high five before Tsukasa dives back into the water to capture more fish. 

As Tsukasa dove deeper to search for more fish, he notices a statue that was tangled from the large amounts of seaweed and coral that was forming around it. Taking upon a closer inspection, he swims closer to the statue and brushes the kelp away to look at its face. Tsukasa’s eyes widen as he recognizes the person, his hand instinctively reaching out to caress her cheek. Feeling some pain within his chest, he quickly rises to the surface to inhale the air that was missing from his lungs.

“Aww, Tsukasa! You didn’t get anymore fish?”

“..yeah, it seems they all swam away from this area.”

Taiju pouts as he adjusts his backpack and continues to collect the shells from the sandy hills. Tsukasa observes Taiju for a moment before he looks down to see what Senku was doing, watching him rub his hands against to what seems to be a bar of soap.

“Is that bar of soap from the shells that Taiju is currently collecting?”

“That’s right. When sea salt from the kelp mixed together with calcium carbonate it can create what we know as soap.” Senku smirks as he continues to wash his hands before looking down at the collection of sea shells they have. Tsukasa continues to stand there, observing Senku before he starts to speak while adjusting his new shape of clothing.

“You’re a wise man, Senku. It’s amazing to how far you’ve come in this stone world.”

Senku looks up at the brown haired male, gazing into his eyes for a moment before going back to his task while packing the rest of their belongings together. “Despite loving the flattery, it’s unusual for another person to compliment the other out of the blue. What is your intention?”

Tsukusa could only smirk as he turns around to gaze at the setting sun, the light breeze passing by as Tsukasa takes a moment to respond to Senku’s question. After a few more seconds, Tsukasa turns around to face the white haired male and start his speech.

“This stone world..is freedom. It’s a time to start anew and to finally start over from the previous society that nearly hurt every new generation. I’m going to thin out the population and keep the innocent lives of the youth while getting rid of those nasty adults who run off of greed.”

Senku’s eyes widened for a moment before his brows furrow together as he holds Tsukasa’s gaze. Tsukasa takes a step forward before placing his spear upright by his side, looking down at the white haired genius.

“And if we work together Senku, we can finally have a peacful society with no one to seperate us from greed or selfishness. What do you say?”

Senku continues to observe his body language, his eyes closing before shaking his head slightly. “I promised myself that I would revive every single person on this earth. I promised myself that I will save _humanity_.”

Senku begins to slightly sweat before he starts to think to himself, a smirk on his lips as he tries his best to keep himself calm. _‘It’s alright. As long as Tsukasa doesn’t know about the miracle cave water then we can use that against him.’_

“HEY SENKU!! WE HAVE ENOUGH MIRACLE WATER TO REVIVE YUZURIHA!!”

As on _fucking_ cue, Taiju excitedly hops towards Senku’s direction as he held the capped bottle over his head. Senku turns over with a horrfiyed look, his sweat beading down his forehead even faster than before. He only sighs before rubbing the back of his neck, and looking over at the taller man behind him. 

“Well we can’t just stand here all day, let’s head back to the base so we can re-energize ourselves.” Tsukasa watched Senku gather his belongings before taking his things and following the two back. But before leaving the beach, he stops to look over his shoulder at the particular spot of the ocean before facing forward and following the duo back to their shared base.


	4. Chapter 4

As the fire was burning throughout the night, Taiju and Tsukasa had curled in their own makeshift sleeping bags while resting beside the campfire. Senku was inside his laboratory, fumbling with a few things on his desk as the clinks of clay cups moving around is heard. Tsukasa slowly opens his eyes as he looks over at Taiju, observing the male as he was snoring away with his leg sticking out from his blanket. Then he turns to look over his shoulder towards the laboratory, watching Senku’s body move around the space. It wasn’t until Tsukasa was able to capture Senku opening a secret compartment, noticing to what seems to be a makeshift map of the area they were at. 

Tsukasa quickly lets his body go limp and closes his eyes once he sensed Senku looking over towards his direction. Tsukasa resorts to using his hearing, the sound of gravel being crushed by his footsteps as he drapes the curtain over the front and head towards the fire. He makes himself comfortable before he lets out a sigh and lets his shoulders slump against his sack. Several minutes pass and Senku’s breathing becomes even, giving Tsukasa a sign that he has finally fallen asleep. Tsukasa finally opens his eyes again, looking at the white haired male before rising from his spot and quietly making his way towards his laboratory. Looking around the dark shack, he allows the curtains to be draped to the side to allow some light from the fire and the moon. 

Tsukasa allows his hands to brush over the many clay cups with lids, reading the numbers off before he stumbled upon the wall that he caught Senku looking at before he went to sleep. Feeling around the perimeter, he was able to open the secret compartment and gaze at some bottles with different labels on them. Tsukasa picks up a bottle, raising it to eye level and reading the label: “30% alcohol filtered”. Then Tsukasa turns to look at the bottle that had the label: “Yuzuriha” on it and opening the cap. He takes a whiff of the scent and whispers to himself after realizing what the contents were.

“Nitric Acid..So that means 70% of this content is Nitric Acid..?”

Tsukasa hums before looking at Yuzuriha’s bottle and placing it back to its original spot. He then looks at the bottle with the alcohol and grabs an empty bottle to fill it with half of its content. After succeeding to do so, he places the bottle back and slipping his own into his sleeve of his clothes. He closes the compartment, taking one last glance at the makeshift map before making sure everything was back in place before leaving. Tsukasa closes the drape and returns to his sleeping area, taking one last glance towards Senku’s direction and closing his eyes to get some rest. 

The following morning, Taiju was happily adjusting the clothes on Yuzuriha as Tsukasa had returned from hunting some fish. Senku was currently in his laboratory, looking at the revival fluids they had made and sighs to which catches Taiju’s attention. 

“Darn, it looks like we don’t have enough revival fluid for one person.”

“Huh!? I’m sorry! I guess I just got too excited!! I’ll go get more miracle cave water!”

But before Taiju could make it any further, Tsukasa grabs him by the shoulder and stops him from his tracks. He looks at Taiju, then at Senku before proclaiming that it was best for him to go since he was the fastest. Senku looks over at him and slightly smirked, nodding towards his idea before pointing north-east from where they were.

“If you head north-east, you will stumble upon a cave with a clay pot at the bottom of it. You can also follow the river up and you’ll be able to find it.”

Tsukasa nods as he adjusts his clothing, turning around with his back facing the others. “Alright, I’ll quickly fetch the miracle water. I will be back shortly.” And just like that, Tsukasa had started out in a sprint. But once he was a few meters away, he could see from the corner of his eye Senku frantically mixing the contents together and pouring it back into the original cup. 

Tsukasa hums as he holds the information for later, turning to his left to make a slight detour from the travel towards the cave. Tsukasa then finds himself at the beach again, his feet touching the sand as he starts to strip from his clothes and diving into the ocean. As he swims further down towards the ocean’s floor, he notices the familiar statue of the girl who spoke to him during his classes and the one who wasn’t scared of who he actually was. Tsukasa could feel himself swim more urgently as he finally reaches her, letting his hands rest on her shoulders and allowing his hand to caress her cheek for a moment and soon swimming further down to de-tangle her from the kelp. After doing so, he then hooks his arms around her and swam as best as he could up to the surface. He gasps as the air starts to fill his lungs, looking down at the statue he was holding before swimming back to shore. Tsukasa takes a moment to catch his breath before looking at the statue again. He sighs with relief as he presses his forehead against hers, allowing a small smile to grace his lips.

“Finally..I found you, [ l/n ]-san.”

It was silent, Tsukasa already knowing he was going to get a response in return. Soon, Tsukasa pulled away and looked at her once more before quickly running towards the forest to grab a few vines. After doing so, he returned and started to wrap her body around with it and made sure to secure a tight knot so she wouldn’t slip while he was traveling. 

_**~~~~~~** _

“Alright, that should hold for now.” Tsukasa looked at his work before nodding his head with approval and weaving his arms around the loose ends of the vines. Tsukasa lifted her with ease as he carried her on his back, adjusting his hold a bit. After looking over his shoulder one last time, he quickly made his move towards the cave that contained the miracle revival fluid while carrying her on his back. 

With Tsukasa’s speed, he was able to get to the cave in no time. He lets out a huff of air as he gently places [ f/n ] on her back, taking off his coat to cover her with. Tsukasa then turns to the sound of dripping water and looks down at the cup of the fluid before picking it up to inspect it.

“It really is nitric acid.”

Tsukasa then takes out the bottle that he took, opening the cap and taking a whiff of the contents inside. He looks at both bottles before looking around and finding a stick nearby. He places both bottles down and carefully stirs in the nitric acid with the filtered alcohol that he took from Senku’s laboratory. He allows the liquid to set for a moment, taking the chance to look at her once more before looking down at the bottle and walking over to her statue. He takes a seat beside her as he looms the bottle over her and inhales through his nose. Exhaling softly, he gently pours the liquid over her collarbone and over her face, finishing the liquid. He places the bottle off to the side, watching the liquid settle before closing his eyes and silently praying to god in his mind.

_‘Kami-sama. If this is going to be a chance, please allow me to have the strength to finally protect the ones that I love.’_

As soon as he was finished with his prayer, the sound of stone breaking had caught his attention and averted his gaze to look at the person in front of him. The sound was becoming more frequent and consistent until Tsukasa finally heard her inhale some air into her lungs. She blinks a few times before the stone from her face has peeled away, her [ e/c ] colored eyes blinking as she adjusts her eyesight with the lighting in the cave. She continues to blink before she raises her hand to look at it and her gaze shifts to the person sitting by her side. She opens her mouth just a bit before her voice finally comes out.

“Shishio..kun?”

Hearing her call out his name made him smile and let out a sigh of relief, reaching forward to place his hand on top of her head. She blushes for a quick moment before she continues to break out of her stone husk, Tsukasa helping her sit up within the process. 

“I’m glad that you’re awake, [ f/n ].”

“Wha--”

She looks at him with bewilderment as her cheeks redden just a bit from the sudden call of her first name. Tsukasa watches her for a moment before she takes in their surroundings and her questions started to fill the air.

“Where are we? What happened..?”

“I’ll tell you what happened but first, use my coat to cover yourself while I go fetch something for you to wear.” Tsukasa explains as he rises from his spot, [ f/n ] watching him leave before she suddenly calls out to him again. He turns around, looking over his shoulder as she tries to cover herself properly with what he had given her.

“Are there other people out there..?”

Tsukasa takes a moment before he meets her gaze again, giving her a curt nod to which [ f/n ]’s eyes had brightened. Then, she continued. “Then! Who did you see?”

“..Taiju and Yuzuriha.”

“T-They’re alive!? Then..is a Senku Ishigami with them too..?”

Hearing the name leave her lips had suddenly made Tsukasa’s blood boil for a split second and had made him fully turn around. [ f/n ] saw this and slightly flinched when he started to approach her, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her smaller frame. She had stiffened from the sudden closeness and contact that she looked at him with a confused expression before he had pulled away. Tsukasa doesn’t say anything for a moment before he finally replies.

“..They couldn’t find him..I’m sorry.”

“Oh..I see..” [ f/n ]’s shoulders suddenly slumped forward, her gaze cast downward and her grip on the lion's pelt had suddenly tightened. Tsukasa takes this chance and lifts her chin up, meeting his gaze as he gives her a gentle smile. [ f/n ] slightly blushed as she looks at him, watching him stand on his feet as he heads towards the cave’s exit. 

“I’m going to be right back and get you something to eat, okay? Just stay here and once I return, I’ll explain everything to you.”

“Alright..be safe.” With one last look, Tsukasa leaves the cave and starts to head towards the forest. As [ f/n ] watches Tsukasa leave, she looks at the cave she was taking shelter in and notices all the bats. Then she looks towards the sound of ripples and gazes at a bottle that was placed right next to her. She looks down at the carved lettering of cup and gently grazes her thumb over it and looks out towards the opening of the cave. Her eyebrows furrow just the slightest as she tightens her hold on the cup before placing it over the falling nitric acid.

_‘If Taiju and Yuzuriha is alive..then Senku must be with them too.’_


	5. Chapter 5

When Tsukasa had left the cave, [ f/n ] had looked at what she was provided with. Taking a quick look around, she finds a sharp rock and uses it as a sharp knife to cut the lion’s pelt apart to accommodate her body size. She quickly gets to work as she tears apart the pelt and makes a makeshift dress, cutting another strip to make a belt and hold everything together. When she was satisfied with the ability to move around freely, she smiles to herself before taking a few cautious steps outside of the cave. 

The sounds of nature had filled the atmosphere, creating such a beautiful scenic sound as she continued to walk through the forest. [ f/n ] is amazed at the fully grown trees with hanging vines, fruit and even different animals. They started at her with a confused manner before running off who knows where. [ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile at the peace and quiet as she allowed herself to continue wandering until she heard the sound of flowing water. She takes a couple more steps before looking down at the river in front of her and kneeling to drink from the river. After refreshing herself after so long, she pulls away with a content sigh as she wipes her lips. As she gazes at herself from the reflection of the water, she gently runs her fingers through her hair as she tries her best to take out some of the knots that she could see. But, from the corner of her eye, she saw a rock that was in the river itself. Squinting at the material, she reaches in and picks up the rock before inspecting the contents as she rubs her thumb over it.

“..flint?”

She looks around and grabs another stray rock and aims before hitting the end of it. After hitting it several times, she held up the flint up closer as one side of the rock had a sharp edge to it. [ f/n ] looks around and smiles as she stuffs both rocks into her makeshift dress, looking around the river bed as she started to pick up some more flint. As she feels her dress shift from the sudden weight it was carrying, [ f/n ] had decided to go back to the cave. After climbing up the small hill, she notices a few sticks lying around nearby and soon decided to grab those as well before placing all of the materials on the ground. 

“Hmm..rope..rope..” [ f/n ] slightly whispered to herself as she taps her chin and taking in her surroundings. She looks outside again, her eyes catching onto the sight of vines nearby. She smiles as she quickly goes over to it and tugs them off the tree and retreats back to her spot. Taking a seat, she sighs as she looks down at the vines she picked, rubbing the material between her fingers. She then picks up the flint that she had carved earlier before allowing the top of the vine to scrape along the flint, watching it as it starts to shred in all different directions.

“It’s fitting how it looks like string cheese.”

**_Acquired:_ ** _Rope!_

[ f/n ] laughs to herself as she continues this action, cutting the vine at a certain length and placing the flint down. She then turns to the thin strips of vines and starts to twist them together, almost watching itself braid in the process as she continued. Once reaching the end, she tied a knot and looked at the material once more before allowing a small smile to form on her lips. Taking the flint that she had carved, she started to hit the other side of the flint piece until she was able to get what looked like an arrowhead shape. [ f/n ] exhaled as she places the end of the flint at the end of a stick, wrapping it together with some rope and finally tightening the rope in place.

**_Acquired:_ ** _Arrow!_

Looking at the weapon in hand, she spins it between her fingers and catches it mid air. [ f/n ] smiles as she looks at it before putting it away and looking at her remaining materials. She takes the larger piece of flint that she picked up, grabbing a rock to sharpen the edge of it. After doing so, she grabs the larger sticks and cuts a hole near the end and placing the sharp flint inside. [ f/n ] then uses the rest of the rope she made and wraps it together, tying the rope tight enough so it wouldn’t come undone.

**_Acquired:_ ** _Knife!_

“Alright, that should be good enough..”

[ f/n ] smiles at the progress she has made, looking down at the tools she was able to make so far. From the distance, she was able to hear some footsteps coming towards her direction so she turns towards the entrance of the cave before tucking away her tools from behind a couple of rocks. She notices the familiar figure again, Tsukasa walking into the cave while carrying a few materials in his hands. He walks up to her and gives her a bowl of berries, [ f/n ]’s eyes widening as she takes the bowl from him and allows himself to take a seat next to her. 

“Welcome back, was the travel difficult?”

“No, it wasn’t that bad. Are you alright with berries for now? I can catch some fish later for dinner.”

“Yes, this can hold me for a while.” [ f/n ] smiled at him for a moment before looking down at the raspberries that he had picked. Taking one and eating it, she could only hum and exhale through her nose with relief as she continued to eat. Tsukasa had observed her from the start and he could only smile at the cute interaction as he gathered some wood together to start a fire. After watching the sky shift colors, the sound of the fire cracks were heard as [ f/n ] turns to see and feel the warmth of the fire pit. Eating another berry, she turns to face Tsukasa as he eats his own share of berries as well.

“So..? What happened here..?” Tsukasa looks at her for a moment before facing her as well, adjusting the way he sat. He thinks for a moment before looking into her eyes, and watching her as she patiently waits for him to start. 

“Well..let’s start with..”

As the fire crackles, Tsukasa did his best to tell how the world came to be and how the stone husks were something that has been keeping them alive for decades. Tsukasa then explained the usage of nitric acid and how it was the main ingredient that helped free both of them together. [ f/n ] continued to listen, finishing her bowl of berries before placing the bowl down next to her. Soon after, Tsukasa then explains his motive on reviving the thriving youth and eliminating the other adults, in hopes that [ f/n ] would understand. 

[ f/n ] hums as she breaks down the thought process in her head, Tsukasa observing her as he watches her tap her chin. [ f/n ] then looks up at him, giving him a small smile to which catches him off guard and causes him to blush just the slightest.

“I can see what your vision is. Despite having greedy grown ups ruling the communist system, it would be nice to live in a world without having that.”

Tsukasa’s eyes widened as he smiles, sitting up straighter as he scoots a bit closer to her. “Then--”

“However, those adults didn’t do anything wrong..it would be like murdering them..” Tsukasa pauses as he continues to look at her, watching her rest her chin on her knees as she continued to speak.

“I’m not sure if I can fully follow you on that but if you need some help then I don’t mind helping you out, Shishio-kun.” She turns to look at him, allowing another smile to grace her lips as she hovers her hands by the fire to keep herself warm. Tsukasa could only sit back and observe, a sigh escaping his lips as he boldly reaches out and waves his hand against hers. [ f/n ]’s eyes widen as her cheeks flush with a pinkish hue as she quickly looks at him.

“You know, family names don’t really matter in this world anymore. I would prefer if you call me ‘Tsukasa’.” He smiles at her as she quickly looks away with embarrassment, her hand still linked with his. [ f/n ] slightly pouts as she tries her best to defend herself, not being able to meet his eye at the moment.

“I-I know, but y’know--I was just being respectful..”

“Well..thank you for that, I appreciate it. How about we get some rest and find a spot to set our camp tomorrow?”

[ f/n ] finally looks at him before agreeing to his idea, releasing his hand before finding a comfortable spot by the fire. Tsukasa does the same as he uses his arm as a pillow and takes a quick glance at her before wishing her a good night. [ f/n ] looks over her shoulder and smiles and replies back before huddling herself in a ball and falling asleep for the first time in 3,700 years.

  
  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  
  


Just like what Tsukasa had mentioned, both he and [ f/n ] had left the cave to venture out and find a place to start their base. Tsukasa did majority of the lifting as [ f/n ] would observe their surroundings as they traveled towards a large mountain. Both [ f/n ] and Tsukasa look up the side of it as he nods with approval and making his way over.

“Are you sure this will be okay to start? I hope it’s not too difficult to find if we happen to find other people..”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that far from the river nearby. If some people do get lost, then they could just follow that.” Tsukasa reassures as he looks at the massive cave, placing the left over materials back on the ground. [ f/n ] looked at the river that was right behind the forest, Tsukasa approaching behind her and placing his hand on top of her head to catch her attention. As he was ruffling her hair, she whined as she tried to stop him from messing up her hair as she looked up at his direction with a pout. Tsukasa could only laugh as he moves to stand in front of her, leaving his hand on top of her head.

“I’ll be right back, I’m going to get more supplies.”

“Ah! While you’re out, I’m going to venture and look around the area, okay?”

“Will you be alright on your own? I can go with you.”

“Yes, I’ll be fine! I’m not some weak girl, you know?” [ f/n ] smirks as she crosses her arms over her chest, Tsukasa looking down at her before he huffs. His hand that was placed on her head had shifted to caress her cheek, causing her to slightly jump from the sudden shift and look at him with embarrassment. 

“I know you’re super strong. I can’t worry about you?”

[ f/n ] then breaks the eye contact and turns her head slightly to focus on something else. Tsukasa only smiles as he takes a step and kisses her forehead, making her return her gaze back towards the tall male.

“I should be back no later than sundown. Try to be back in the cave until then, alright?”

[ f/n ] nods as Tsukasa gently caresses her cheek once more. After he was satisfied by her nod, he grabbed some of his tools before leaving the cave and heading off further within the forest. [ f/n ] took a moment before she also grabbed her tools and made her way towards the river. After making a quick jog, she reached her destination and smiled at the new area that she had found. She sighed with content at the open area, the flat land with planted berry bushes and various rocks as well. [ f/n ] had decided to walk along side of the river, following it down the forest before entering another area with bamboo.

“Oh my gosh..this is perfect!”

[ f/n ] laughs as she approaches the bamboo, taking out her knife as she started to cut some of the bamboo roots from the ground. After taking a few, she stuffs them into her dress before going back and looking up at the tall trees. [ f/n ] sighs as she looks around until she finds the perfect branch and starting to place her stuff down.

“After making an arrow, I’m going to try and see if I can make a bow..” [ f/n ] whispers to herself before she climbs the tree and snatching the shaped branch. Taking her knife, she carefully cuts it out from the tree and sits along the branch that supported her weight. [ f/n ] hums to herself as she swings her feet back and forth as she uses rope to make the main string of the bow before adjusting it. After bending the branch just a bit, she was able to fit the other side of the string before easing the tension on the branch.

**_Acquired:_ ** _Bow!_

“There! Now I can start hunting down--”

“Chalk, wait! You can’t!”

[ f/n ] turned to see a little girl running after a dog who was being chased by a larger wolf. But the dog soon returned to its owner and the wolf’s eyes were now on the girl. She yelped as she held her dog close to her as she tried her best to run away but found herself cornered. [ f/n ] gasped as she looked down at her slightly unfinished bow before looking up at the situation at hand. The wolf was getting closer as its growl grew louder and drool was seeping from his mouth. The little girl started to cry as she turned her back slightly to protect the dog, the white animal crying as it was shaking in fear. 

[ f/n ] nocked her arrow and took a deep breath before bringing the string and arrow back. She watched as the wolf was about to pounce, [ f/n ] exhaling from her breath as she releases the arrow and strikes the wolf right on its head. The wolf was silenced as it stops moving and drops dead in front of the little girl, opening her eyes once she felt no pain come to her. 

“Are you alright?”

The little girl looks up from her corner, [ f/n ] walking up to her as soon as she was able to get down from the tree. It wasn’t until [ f/n ] had noticed the girl was wearing a melon on her head with two holes on the front that made her stop in front of her. The girl gasped with amazement as [ f/n ] kneeled in front of her, giving her a friendly smile and causing the girl to blush.

“Ye-Yes! Thank you so much for saving me and Chalk!”

The said animal barked with glee as Chalk was placed on the ground and went to lean its front paws on [ f/n ]’s knee. [ f/n ] laughs as she pets the dog, looking at the little girl before asking her name.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Suika! And this is my friend, Chalk!” Chalk barked again as it leaned into [ f/n ]’s touch, wagging its tail with excitement. [ f/n ] continued to giggle as Suika admired her beauty (despite having the ‘eye disease’) and listened to her laugh.

“What’s your name?”

[ f/n ] looked at her once she averted her question back to her, causing her to stop petting Chalk. [ f/n ] gazed at her skin and had noticed that there weren’t any black lines that indicated she was revived from the miracle water Tsukasa was talking about.

_‘They don’t seem to be from our time..so maybe these are first generation humans..? It might be safe to come up with an alias for now..”_

“My name? You can call me..Sensei.” [ f/n ] smiled as she looks at Suika who only smiles in return. Suika calls out to Chalk as she notices the sun was starting to go down and had decided to return back to her village. As she held Chalk in her hands, she was about to turn and leave before turning back around and calling out to [ f/n ] once more.

“Will I be seeing you again, Sensei?”

[ f/n ] blinked for a moment before she looked around at her surroundings, noticing all of the materials that could possibly be used. [ f/n ] hums as she looks down at Suika and nods her head to accommodate with her question. 

“I might be building a secret base here..so in case you want to see me, I’ll be here.”

“Okay! See you again, Sensei!” Suika calls out as she runs back into the forest, Chalk following right behind her. [ f/n ] waves until she was out of view, looking up at the sky as it was shifting colors once more. She inhales before exhaling loudly, taking in her surroundings once more. [ f/n ] smiles before taking her belongings and followed the river back up towards her base, but not before placing her arrow down into the ground on where she last stood.

  
**_Acquired:_ ** _Secret Base!_


	6. Chapter 6

It had started to become a routine for [ f/n ] to return back to the area by the river when Tsukasa would leave to get materials for their home base. [ f/n ] would wait a couple of minutes before she left on her own to the spot of amazing making materials. Some of the materials that he would bring back would be plenty of deer skin that [ f/n ] would be preoccupied with making clothes. With the extra source of material, [ f/n ] went ahead and altered her dress to fit her body figure more and had made herself an extra cloak with a hood to hide with.

One night as [ f/n ] was sitting by the bonfire and stitching herself up a face mask, Tsukasa sat beside her with their bowl of dinner he had prepared. Looking down at the bowl, she thanked the male beside her as she placed her things down and set it off to the side. 

“Hey..Tsukasa?”

“Hm?”

“Do you think..we could find other people in this stone world..?”

Tsukasa places his utensil down as he chews his food, letting his bowl rest on his lap. [ f/n ] then takes a chance to take a bite from her own food and observe Tsukasa’s behavior. 

“If we do encounter other people..we can try our best to help them and try to convince them to join our side.” Tsukasa replies as he looks at her. [ f/n ] gazes at him for a moment before she smiles and agrees with him, continuing to eat her meal. As soon as they both finish their food, the bowls were set off to the side as [ f/n ] rose from her spot to stretch. Tsukasa is silent for a moment before he looks at her, watching as she looked at the full moon that was shining brightly in the sky. Tsukasa then rises from his seat, looking at [ f/n ].”

“[ f/n ].”

“Yes?” [ f/n ] responded as she continued to look at the stars, her back still turned towards his direction. 

“While you were in stone, what did you think about to keep yourself conscious?”

[ f/n ] was curious about the question Tsukasa had asked and turned around to look over her shoulder. She noticed that he was genuinely asking and had smiled before looking up at the stars again. 

“I was thinking about a lot of things. Why did this happen, where was I, how did it start. But..later on, I just kept thinking about my family and my friends..and the one I love.”

_“‘The one you love’..?”_

“Mhm..I was wondering what he was doing and how he was feeling. I was praying for his safety and hoping he was doing alright. I even asked myself if he was going to find me in this bizarre world. But..” [ f/n ] continued to ramble, looking up at the stars as she unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself. Tsukasa saw this and took a bold step, wrapping his arms around her. [ f/n ] flinched from the sudden body heat Tsukasa was providing, a blush coating her cheeks as she tried her best to look at him. 

“[ f/n ]..if I can confess, I have been infatuated by you ever since I first met you. When I saw you, I was beyond relieved that you were unharmed and in one piece.”

Her eyes were wide as her blush was turning from a pink to red hue, embarrassment taking over as she was slightly squirming in his arms. However, that only made Tsukasa keep his hold on her a bit tighter. 

“If you could allow me, I would like to keep you by my side and restart civilization together. I may not have your heart now, but I will definitely give you all of my love if you could stay by my side.”

Tsukasa had loosened his hold on her and turned her around so they were facing each other. [ f/n ] was a blushing mess for she was shocked to receive an upfront confession. Despite going with her gut and believing that Senku was out there, she has not met any other person besides Suika to help rebuild civilization. She had looked away from him to capture her thoughts before returning her gaze and giving him a shy smile and a nod.

“Okay..please take care of me..”

Tsukasa felt joy and relief once [ f/n ] had recuperated with his speech. He effortlessly picks her up and spins in a circle, making her yelp with surprise. Tsukasa chuckles as he looks up at her, her [ e/c ] colored eyes blinking in confusion before he leans forward and kisses her cheek. [ f/n ] squeaks as she tried to hide from this embarrassment but Tsukasa would only laugh at her adorable reactions.

“Despite that I want to shower you with kisses, we should get some rest tonight. I will be bringing statues of potential people to join our colony tomorrow so I will probably be away for about a couple of days.”

[ f/n ] nods as she follows Tsukasa back towards the fire pit, taking a seat in her spot and laying herself down. Tsukasa starts to put out the fire, resting on his side of the fire pit as he glances at [ f/n ] for a moment.

“Good night, [ f/n ].”

“Good night, Tsukasa.”

Just as Tsukasa had mentioned, he had started to bring people back to the cave that they were sheltering under. And as Tsukasa was away, [ f/n ] would visit the secret base that she had started to build on her own. She would make sure to bring her quiver filled with arrows and her bow as she would put on her hood and cover her face before leaving for her base. 

As she got the hang of the normal route down, [ f/n ] became swift enough to weave through the trees effortlessly and jump from branch to branch before finally arriving to her base. [ f/n ] sighs as she sits on a branch, looking down at the progress she had made from the past couple of days that she was able to mind her own business. As [ f/n ] had started to climb down the tree, she heard faint footsteps and the sound of an animal following the person.

“Sensei! Sensei!!”

[ f/n ] smiled at the little girl waving her arms over her head as Chalk was happily following behind her. [ f/n ] approaches the girl and gently pats the melon helmet she was wearing, Chalk leaning its front paws against her leg as its tail was wagging excitedly behind it. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Suika. How are you?”

“I’m great! Actually, did you know? I saw Kohaku leaving to get spring water for Miss Ruri but her pot looked like it was about to fall apart!”

“Kohaku? You mean the strong woman you always talk about?”

“Yeah, do you have anything in your magic hut that can help her Sensei?” [ f/n ] hummed as she tapped her chin, turning around towards the small shack she was able to build. [ f/n ] smiles as she walks inside the hut, Suika and chalk following her inside. The little girl looks around at the room with amazement, approaching a place where there were other items placed on there as [ f/n ] pulls another curtain away to reveal another room. She then leans down and carefully rolls the large clay pot she had, showing it to Suika. The little girl then turns around and gasps before her smiles spreads wide enough to make [ f/n ] smile.

“Do you think this will help?”

“This is such a nice pot, Sensei! Is it alright to give it to her?”

“I don’t mind, I can always make another one.” [ f/n ] chuckles as she grabs some rope from the basket she made, tightly wrapping the clay pot with it before tying it at the rim of the edge. Suika jumps with glee as she goes over to hug her side. [ f/n ] laughs at the adorable nature before gently patting her head again.

“Where is the springs, anyways?”

“It’s right over the mountain from here! I don’t think Kohaku left yet so I’ll go get her to use the pot you made, Sensei!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! I’ll be right back! Chalk, keep Sensei company while I go get Kohaku!” 

Suika nods her head as she tucks herself into her melon and started to roll out of the hut, [ f/n ] watching her the whole time as she was able to maneuver around the trees and follow the river down to their village. She blinks as she looks behind her, the white dog obediently sitting on the floor and looking up at her. [ f/n ] exhales through her nose as she sits on the ground to pet the animal, watching it lean into her touch as it moves closer to get more affection. [ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile as she continued to scratch behind its ear and look at the establishment she has successfully made. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for her to even live in and take shelter if something were to go sour in Tsukasa’s Empire.

[ f/n ] then rises from her spot from the floor and walks outside towards the river in front of the building. She looks at the bucket of the damp contents of the smashed bamboo she found, smoothing it out and place it on the strain before washing the extra contents away. [ f/n ] then kneels and places the white piece on a row of other pieces of sheets and places a few stones on top of it. [ f/n ] then turns around and inspects another row, removing the stones and picking up the contents from the floor.

**_Acquired:_ ** _Paper!_

[ f/n ] stacks the pieces of paper she had made, gently tapping the bottom the paper vertically and carefully bringing the stack inside. But before she could go inside, Suika’s voice could be heard as she was approaching the base with another person right next to her. Once the person next to the little girl caught notice of her, she immediately holds her hand out to protect Suika, the little girl tugging on her arm as she tried to tell her to put her weapon down.

“Wait, Kohaku! That’s Sensei! They're really nice, they won’t hurt anybody!”

“What? That’s them?”

[ f/n ] notices them talking to each other, waiting patiently for them to finish discussing before giving her another look. Suika continued to jump as [ f/n ] noticed Kohaku’s shoulders relaxing from the tension, Suika leaving her side to join [ f/n ]’s. [ f/n ] smiles as she pats Suika’s head again, Kohaku approaching her as she gives her an awkward nod.

“Sensei, where’s the pot?”

“I have it inside, why don’t you join me?”

Kohaku then notices the shack as well, amazed from the strange items that were laying around inside. [ f/n ] places the paper that she had made, on a table in the corner before reaching over and gently tapping the clay pot with rope. [ f/n ] turns around to Kohaku and notices that she was eyeing the pot, her eyes widening as she hesitantly reaches out for it.

“Suika here, told me that the other pot that you normally carry was starting to crumble. I happen to have an extra one so she thought you would like this one instead.”

The blonde girl looks at her for a moment before she lets her hand rest on top of the item, her eyes inspecting the design and the sturdiness of the pot. She turns to look at [ f/n ], the [ h/c ] haired girl already having a feeling that she wasn’t fully trusted yet.

“You don’t even know me, yet you’re giving me something brand new?”

“In this type of world, its survival of the fittest. There’s a lot of people who are really selfish and will only think of themselves. But..there’s never anything wrong than doing the right thing and helping others out.”

[ f/n ] reasons as she turns around to occupy herself, her fingers brushing against the new stack of papers. Kohaku continues to observe her body language, her hand still sitting on top of the new clay pot that she was given. Kohaku inhales before she approaches [ f/n ], sticking her hand out and offering a smile. [ f/n ] looks at her before taking her hand, shaking it in the process.

“My name is Kohaku and I’m from the Ishigami Village. Suika told me that you saved her from a wolf that tried to attack her. I just want to thank you for that..”

“Ishigami..” [ f/n ]’s eyes widened as she looked at Kohaku her grip loosening after recognizing the familiar name. 

Kohaku looked at her with a confused look before [ f/n ] took a step back and gathered a few pieces of paper and wrapping them together with string. She turns around to face the girl in front of her and give her a curious look. 

“If you don’t mind, could I join you on your journey to fetch the spring water?”

“Jo-Join me..? Well..no one has ever joined me before..”

“Then let me be the first.” [ f/n ] smiles as she sticks her hand out again. Kohaku looks at her hand and was about to reach for it before her gaze landed on a few knives that were placed on the table behind her. She glares at the weapons and pulls away, causing [ f/n ] to glance at her with confusion. 

“How should I know you aren’t going to betray me? Just because you gave me something..doesn’t mean I can fully trust you.”

[ f/n ] looked at her as Kohaku stood her ground, her gaze wandering to Suika who was looking between the two women. [ f/n ] inhales and exhales softly before pulling her hand back and removing her hood. She then removed her face mask and untucked her hair from underneath her cloak. Kohaku and Suika gasped and gaped with her true identity, both girls blinking in shock as they practically screamed. 

_“A GIRL!!?!”_

[ f/n ] jumps before waving her hands in front of them and pressing her finger against her lips. They soon took the sign to quiet down and relaxed, [ f/n ] watching them before letting out a sigh of relief when it was quiet again. She looks at Kohaku and gives her a smile, her left hand moving to rest on her left hip. 

“I don’t have much to offer to gain your trust, but I can hopefully trust you enough to show you how I truly look like under this cloak.”

“Why were you hiding yourself in the first place?”

[ f/n ] continues to look at her before looking away, her right hand rubbing the back of her neck as she was coming up with a response. 

“I’m currently living with someone who has..different beliefs than I do. He doesn’t know that I’ve made this house out here and I’m trying to keep it that way. If he were to find out that I’ve been doing something behind his back _and_ without him knowing, he’s probably going to destroy everything.”

Kohaku listens as [ f/n ] explained her story. She continues to stare at the [ h/c ] haired girl before reaching out and taking hold of her left hand. This caught her by surprise as Kohaku held her hand with both of hers, a new gleam in her eyes. Kohaku gives her a smile before shaking her hand, causing [ f/n ] to smile. 

“You’ve done so little, yet it means a lot. I’ll trust you, Sensei. I hope you don’t mind if I call you my friend too..”

“Of course. I’d love to be friends with you.” [ f/n ] giggles from the adorable action before Kohaku allowed [ f/n ] to travel with her to the hot springs. But before they started to pack what they needed, [ f/n ] grabs a hold of Kohaku’s hand and caught her attention. 

“If you could promise me this..please keep my identity a secret until I expose who I truly am in the future.”

Kohaku looks at her and gives her a nod as she grabs hold of her hands again. “You have my word.”

~~~~~~

After gathering the travel necessities, [ f/n ] and Kohaku left the shack and started to make their way up the mountain. Tucking her hair further into hood, she adjusts her bow and quiver before looking back at Kohaku and Suika. 

“You ready?”

“Ready!”

Kohaku exclaims as she carries the pot effortlessly. [ f/n ] could only whistle and admire Kohaku’s strength as she turns back and glances at Suika. She walks over and gently pats her head, causing her to blush. 

“Keep the shack safe while I’m gone, okay?”

“You bet, Sensei! Have a safe trip!”

[ f/n ] smiles as she waves at her before going back to Kohaku’s side and following her up the mountain. The travel towards the spring wasn’t that far from the base, however, it wasn’t that easy to climb up and over the obstacles. [ f/n ] and Kohaku were able to get up there safely, the two girls walking along the path until Kohaku pointed towards a pond that was nearby.

“That’s where I get the spring water for my Ruri-nee. Thankfully this has been keeping her sickness down but she won’t be living much longer..”

Kohaku mentions as she sets the pot down, tipping it to start gradually capturing the water. [ f/n ] watches her as she kneels down to gently touch the sand that they were stepping on. Gently feeling the materials, she rubs the sand between her fingers before reaching into her own bag and taking out a few cups that had caps and started to gather the sand.

“How long has she had this sickness for..?”

“For as long as I can remember..I don’t know what else to do besides getting this water to her.”

“Well..despite not having any antibiotics in this world, it must be hard for her to walk around the village I assume..”

Kohaku hums in agreement as she slowly brings the pot back up, covering it and wrapping the top with the rope that was provided. [ f/n ] was still looking at the ground, checking to see if there were more ingredients she could use to produce more materials. As Kohaku ties the last knot, she stands to her full height and looks over at [ f/n ], watching her fill another cup of the sand before walking to the hot spring and filling another empty cup with it. 

“If I had the opportunity, I would love to see visit your sister to check her symptoms. Although, I can only assume that your village has strict rules against outsiders?”

“Yes, it’s for the village’s safety.”

“I understand, that’s alright.” [ f/n ] smiles as she closes the cap for the bottle she had in hand. After gathering all they needed, Kohaku then took the lead as she carried the pot with her arms. [ f/n ] was following her, slowly falling behind as her gaze wandered off to the setting sun. 

“Hey, Kohaku?”

“Yes?”

“Could you do me a favor?” The blonde haired girl looked at her new friend, giving her a confused look. [ f/n ] was still gazing at the sun, a comfortable silence forming between the two of them before she turned to look at her. She pulls her mask down to reveal her face, however, her hood still covering her facial frame from anybody who was witnessing from the side.

“There is a person I’m looking for..his name is Senku. If you ever find him, please come back to the base without him knowing.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if I brought this person to you instead?” [ f/n ] shook her head as she pulls her mask over her mouth once more, a sad smile forming on her lips as she walked a bit closer before to stand by her side.

“I’m afraid he’s going to get hurt if he’s brought to me. I really want to see him but I also need him to be safe..” 

Kohaku then starts to walk back with her, their shoulders brushing each other just a bit. As they were climbing back down the mountain, both Kohaku and [ f/n ] could see the base from where they were standing. As [ f/n ] was about to climb down, she heard a faint call from an animal who happened to be wandering. The [ h/c ] haired girl slowly approached the animal, its eyes looking at her before she was an arm’s length away. Gently reaching out to the baby sheep, she gently strokes its fur before it had grown comfortable with her touch. 

“Again, I live with someone who has the skill to kill _anybody._ Senku is the last person I want to put in harm's way. I care way too much about him.”

“Why..?”

[ f/n ] picks up the animal and looks at Kohaku, her eyes still curious as to why she wanted this task to be held a secret. Her hands gently rub its back in a soothing motion, her eyes gleaming with compassion and _love._

“Because I love him.”

She giggles as she hugs the sheep close, the animal responding with her affection as it snuggled closer. [ f/n ] had started to lead the way now, Kohaku following close behind as they were now approaching the shack. Suika jumps from where she sat, excitedly looking at the new friend [ f/n ] had picked up. Kohaku placed the pot down as she caught her breath, wiping a bread of sweat before looking at [ f/n ]. She was putting away the materials she gathered and packed a few more things before she approached Kohaku once more.

“There will be days where I won’t be here. It’s possible that once Tsukasa’s empire continues to rise, the less likely you will be seeing me. But that doesn’t mean that you aren’t welcome to stay here either.” [ f/n ] smiles as she gives Kohaku’s shoulder a gentle pat. 

Kohaku observes her as she starts to frown, making [ f/n ] chuckle. “Don’t worry, I’ll try my best to come back when I can. For now, take good care of your sister okay?”

“I will. Thank you so much for the pot. And..your secret's safe with me. I will also keep an eye out for this man that you’re looking for as well.”

[ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile as she reached forward and granted Kohaku with a hug, wrapping her arms around her and giving her a squeeze. Shocked and embarrassed, Kohaku meekly returns the hug and looks at her with flushed cheeks as soon as she pulls away. [ f/n ] laughs as she walks away, waving at the two before quickly making her leave. Kohaku watched her go before Suika is at her side again, looking at where [ f/n ] once stood.

“Sensei sure is pretty, isn’t she?”

“Yes..I’m so glad that she’s our friend.” Kohaku replies as she allows herself to smile before returning back to her original task; getting the spring water to Ruri-nee. 

As [ f/n ] was able to travel back towards the cave, she lets out a tired sigh as she removes her cloak and folds it to store back into her living space. With the materials that Tsukasa was bringing back, the cave was starting to look more like a luxurious throne room and a few hay stacks that made itself look like beds. After putting away her things, she was doing her best to brush her hair until she was caught by surprise by Tsukasa’s sudden form in front of her. She gasped as she looked up at him, his gaze made her stiffen from her spot.

“Ts-Tsukasa..you’re back earlier than usual..what’s wrong..?”

“Come, I want to show you something.” Tsukasa then takes her hand, guiding her outside the cave as she finishes weaving her fingers through her hair. [ f/n ] follows behind him, stopping once Tsukasa had stopped and stepped to the side for her to have a better view. [ f/n ] gazed at the tall pile of statues, her eyes widening at the amount of people Tsukasa was able to bring back to the cave. He then approaches someone who had a weird stance, his arms spread out wide as if he was apart of a show before he turned into stone. Tsukasa then takes out a bottle, uncapping it and pouring the contents over its head. After taking a few steps back, Tsukasa returned back to your side before the familiar sounds of stone breaking was heard.

Within seconds, the person emerges from the stone, his eyes adjusting to the sunlight before he started to look around in confusion. “What? Where am I..?”

“3,700 years have passed and you were hidden away in this stone husk. Asagiri Gen, with your powers to manipulate language, I revived you to help me build my empire in this stone world.”

The said person gazed up at Tsukasa, his eyes looking at him before his gaze shifted towards [ f/n ]. She meets his gaze before sending a friendly wave, his cheeks flushing a bit with embarrassment.

“My name is Tsukasa and this is [ f/n ]. If you’re thinking about anything in regards to her then you’re out of luck. [ f/n ] is ruling this kingdom alongside with me so I suggest you keep your gaze away from her.”

Tsukasa huffs with a bit of annoyance as he places his arm over [ f/n ]’s shoulders. Gen quickly averts his gaze somewhere else, looking at the ground as he made a bowing gesture. 

“I-I’m sorry. Thank you for reviving me and giving me another chance in this strange world. I know that I’ll be in good hands.”

Gen replies as Tsukasa hums with approval. His gaze was still facing the ground so he wasn’t aware when [ f/n ] approached him with the another cloak that was wrapped around her shoulders, now resting on top of his to protect cover himself from view. He looks up from the friendly gesture, [ f/n ]’s gaze giving off a friendly aura as she slightly bows in his direction.

“I hope to get along with you, Asagiri-kun.” [ f/n ] replies back as she turns around to return to Tsukasa’s side. Gen continues to gaze at her, the [ h/c ] haired girl involved in a conversation with Tsukasa as she was laughing at something he had mentioned. Gen slightly squints at her behavior, one of his hands gently grasping the fabric she had given him.

_‘Why does she look so sad..?’_


	7. Chapter 7

After Asagiri Gen was revived, a few other people were soon revived right afterwards and had followed Tsukasa’s orders naturally. Asagiri was busy doing his own work, making conversation with other people before turning to the right to see [ f/n ] helping the revived children. He continues to stare before a loud boom was heard in the distance, the ground shaking just the slightest. All eyes were on the large black cloud forming in the sky, slowly but surely rising to the top. Tsukasa looks towards the smoke and growls, placing his cloak over his shoulders as he approaches the entrance of the entrance. 

[ f/n ] stands from her crouching position, two of the four revived children clinging to her sides. She turns around to watch Tsukasa starting to leave, gently ushering the children towards the others before running up to him. 

“Tsukasa—“

“Stay with everybody while I go check out the issue. It might be ugly..”

“But, Tsukasa—“

Tsukasa finally turns to look at her, her gaze shifting back and forth between the black smoke and the male. He stares at her for a moment before leaning forward and gently pressing his lips on her forehead. [ f/n ] stiffens on the spot, her eyes wide as Tsukasa pulls away to look at her. 

“Stay here and don’t go outside. I will be right back.”

And just like that, he starts to run off towards the smoke. [ f/n ] blinks as she stands there, her cheeks ablaze as she grunts with her eyebrows furrowed. She turns around to the small group of people, all eyes on her. 

“Gather the children and the materials we have. Go further within the cave and hide while I scope the area.” [ f/n ] quickly ties her hair up into a ponytail, Asagiri’s brows furrowed in confusion. “But, [ f/n ]-dono! Tsukasa-chan said—“

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back.” She turns to Asagiri and offers him a small smile before facing forward and running out of the cave. Asagiri calls out to her once more but watches her swiftly move down the mountain, he could only watch her with awe as she started to travel by jumping on the tree branches. He blinks as a sigh leaves his lips, his free hand gently scratching his cheek as he chuckled nervously. 

“Oh my..this might be troublesome..”

[ f/n ] was jumping from branch to branch, glancing at the sky with the black smoke every so often. She huffed as she stops on tree branch, using the chance to catch her breath as she looks at the sky once more. The smoke had started to get heavier, the darkness in the smoke rising as if it were sending off a signal. [ f/n ] continues to try and catch her breath, the smoke slowly fading away from the source of the mountain. She starts to look around, suddenly finding the familiar blonde haired girl who was peering up at the mountain from behind a tree. Her eyes widened as she recognized her, a moment of relief escaping her lips as she quickly made her way over to her.

“Kohaku!”

The said girl looks toward the direction on where her name was called, finding the source. She sees a woman with long [ h/c ] hair, her clothes far different than how she first saw her. Kohaku blinks as she rubs her eyes, looking at her as she makes her way closer to her.

“Se-Sensei!? Is that you!?”

“Yes! Sorry, I left Tsukasa’s cave once I heard a strange noise and saw the black smoke.”

“Right..I was on the way to get some water for Ruri-nee when I heard the explosion. It seems to be coming from that mountain up there.”

As Kohaku points to where the commotion was held, [ f/n ]’s eyes shifted towards the source. From where they were, she was able to see that there was more than one person within the smoke but only one was standing amongst the few. [ f/n ] squinted a little to decipher the silhouettes, the body shapes coming into form. One figure stood superior than the rest while the two others were crouched on the floor. It wasn’t until the black smoke had slowly started to fade away, when [ f/n ] was able to recognize that the person that was left standing was Tsukasa. Her breath hitched as she looked at him, an ominous glint in his eyes as [ f/n ] averted her sight towards the two crouching on the ground, their backs facing her.

Words were definitely being exchanged as the smaller person’s shoulders were shaking and the other male (she assumed) slowly walked over to a boulder to pick it up. Tsukasa was looking at him, holding his weapon at bay as he let his guard up, watching the man lift the boulder. With all his might, the boulder was lifted into the air, making all eyes gaze at the rock with shock. [ f/n ] watches the boulder but quickly looks back at the smaller party, the male leaning down to pick up another person. And as if everything was in slow motion, the male that had shot the boulder straight up into the sky had a recognizable face, as well as the female accompanying him. The male carried someone else in his arms, the head resting against his chest as they started to make a run for it together.

“Taiju..? Yuzuriha..!?”

_‘Senku..?!’_

[ f/n ] was about to let out her voice but it was interrupted by another explosion when the falling rock had came in contact with the leftover black powder. Both Kohaku and [ f/n ] took cover as they blocked themselves from the smoke that was spreading, coughing here and there before waving their hand over their face. [ f/n ] looked up from her arms as she frantically looked at all directions, looking for the familiar faces of her childhood friends. But before she could pursue her friends, [ f/n ] suddenly feels another chill run down her spine as she looks up at the mountain, Tsukasa coughing into his elbow as he was trying to regain his sight. 

“I need to go back..”

“Sensei? Is that the man that you mentioned before..?”

“Yes..I need to go back, Kohaku..I need to..”

Kohaku leans forward and gently places her hand on top of hers, making [ f/n ]’s breath hitch. She looked into the blue eyes of her, the tension she was feeling slowly fading away. [ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile as she adjusts her hand to gently squeeze hers, Kohaku looking at her with concern.

“If you ever encounter Tsukasa..please be careful. He’s really strong and he can severely hurt you..”

“Don’t worry, Sensei. I’ll make sure to keep my distance, just for you.” [ f/n ] looks down at their joined hands and back at her, giving her the best smile she could muster. She looks around her area to check if the coast was clear, looking back at Kohaku and giving her a nod.

“Please visit my base whenever you can. Even when I’m not there, I will come back eventually.”

“Yes, Sensei.” And with that, [ f/n ] quickly leaves her spot to head back towards Tsukasa’s empire. As she was jumping on the branches, the breeze was tangling into her hair and her breath caught in the wind as she exhaled through her mouth a few times. As she was slowly approaching the cave, one of them that Tsukasa had revived and that was keeping watched had noticed her approaching. He gasped as he quickly approached her, bowing to her before raising his head.

“Are you alright, [ f/n ]-dono?”

“Yes I’m fine..how are the children..?”

“They’re doing fine. If anything, they were waiting for you, miss.” [ f/n ] smiles and gives him a small nod before she walked into the cave. After hearing the sound of gravel, a few children looked and smiled as they stood from their seats to greet her. The youngest of the four had waddled to her, waving its arms in front of him as [ f/n ] reached down to pick up the child. All of the other men had greeted her as well, Asagiri also in line with the muscular men with their heads bowed. 

“If all of you could do me the favor..please don’t inform that I left the cave just now to Tsukasa. I will speak with him, myself.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, [ f/n ]-dono.”

“Yes..?”

“Why did you suddenly leave the cave? Did that explosion also have to deal with you as well?” [ f/n ] stared at Asagiri-kun as his face didn’t falter, giving her the sign that he was genuinely serious with his question. [ f/n ] looked away for a moment before giving him a tired smile, to which he caught onto. Asagiri’s eyes widened just for a moment, continuing to stare at her as she continued to smile.

“I just needed to confirm something..that’s all.”

“I..see..” [ f/n ] hummed as she holds onto the child before heading back to their original seats. Once [ f/n ] sat down, all the children had gathered around her, seeking her warmth once everyone felt a cold chill pass through the cave. Everyone turns to the familiar sound of thunder outside, the rain pelting down from the sky as all color had left and left behind the grey undertone into the mist forming in the forest. As the sound of thunder had struck, all the children gasped with fear and huddle closer, [ f/n ] gently stroking the youngest one’s hair as she was softly soothing them through the rain, her cheek resting on the child’s head as she was unaware of the stray tears she was shedding.

The storm had continued to come down until Tsukasa had officially returned from his task. He had happened to stop by the ocean to fish some food for the night, entering the cave with food for everybody underneath his shelter. The men helped him with setting up a fire to start cooking for everybody, Tsukasa giving them the responsibility before heading towards [ f/n ]’s direction. He crouches to become eye level with her, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead. Once he pulls away, Tsukasa reaches out and wipes a tear away to which causes [ f/n ]’s eyes to widen for a moment.

“Hm? Did you miss me that much that you started to cry? I’m here in one piece you know, there’s no need to worry that much.” Tsukasa chuckles as he caresses her cheek in the process of wiping her tears away. [ f/n ] continued to not say a word as she gently places her hand over his, breaking eye contact with him. Tsukasa then turns to look at the other children, reaching out to ruffle one of the boys’ hair. Asagiri stands off to the side, gazing at the interactions before leaving to continue his task for the night.

After that night of the black cloud and the strange explosion, Tsukasa’s empire was starting to grow immensely as 2 months have passed. And as the population of his empire was growing, so was the civilization that they were forming. Starting from one cave, it soon turned into multiple caves and soon connecting tree houses for families to live in. Asagiri Gen had been graced the role of ambassador within Tsukasa’s group, the man who speaks out to other people with persuasion. But not only was he considered as Tsuaksa’s ambassador, but he was often told to accompany [ f/n ] when she left for walks with the children or taking care of the garden they started. 

[ f/n ] was currently dressing herself as she looked toward the next room, hearing some conversation happening so early in the morning. Before [ f/n ] could have a chance to take a step and ease drop, a name stood out from the conversation to which made her stop her tracks. 

“Asagiri Gen, I want to assign you this mission. You are to seek out Senku and confirm that he’s dead. That man’s talent is far too exponential that it could overthrow this empire. See to it that he’s still in the afterlife.”

“And do you have any guesses on where Senku-chan could actually be?”

“I’m not too sure, to be honest. But..I have a feeling in my gut that even his soul is still lingering around.” 

“Then I will do my best to assure you that he’s far from this earth.” Asagiri proclaims, making [ f/n ]’s eyes widen. She takes a couple steps back as she crosses her arms over her chest, feeling the pain return as she grits her teeth. After a few minutes, [ f/n ] inhales through her nose and exhales through her mouth - keeping herself calm as she adjusted her clothing. She finally leaves the room, pushing the animal hide away and causing Tsukasa to look from his chair. After all eyes shifted to her, they soon bowed their heads as she passed while she was making her way to Tsukasa. 

“Good morning [ f/n ]. Did you decide to sleep in today?”

“A lady loves her beauty sleep, Tsukasa. You can’t mess with that.” [ f/n ] laughs as she looks at the other men and sends them a friendly wave, causing them to blush and bow their head quickly out of embarrassment. [ f/n ] smiles as she looks over to Tsukasa, tightening the strap around her dress.

“I’ll be visiting the children in a bit, do you need something before I go?”

Tsukasa hums as he shakes his head, his gaze landing on Gen as he nods in understanding. [ f/n ] saw this exchange and looked at Gen as well, the said man joining her side once she was ready to go. 

“Alright then, I’ll be off.”

“Be safe.” Tsukasa calls out to her as she made her way out of the cave, Gen following her and walking by her side. As the two of them were walking together, they were passing by some people who were working on their own tasks to help build the empire. As she was passing by, the folk would stop to bow their heads for a moment and greet her before returning back to their original task. Gen was walking side by side with her, his hands folded in front of him as they were tucked inside his sleeves. 

As they continued to pass by the villagers, Gen was about to turn towards the road to where the children stayed but [ f/n ] had decided to make a detour. Noticing that she was walking away from him, he looks at the road and back to the girl walking away from him. Quickly following the latter and catching up to her, he makes his way back to her side as they were walking away from the village.

“Where are you going, [ f/n ]-dono? We’re walking away from where the children are staying.”

“Asagiri-kun, do you know why Tsukasa asked you to find Senku..?” Gen blinks as he slows down his pace, a bit shocked to hear her suddenly bring up a confidential topic. But after regaining his thoughts, he catches up to her and looks straight ahead.

“I’m going to take a guess that..he has the knowledge of advanced survival skills. And enough to scare Tsukasa-chan.”

[ f/n ] hums as she smiles a little, continuing to lead the way through a forest that Gen wasn’t familiar with. As they were passing by the tall trees, Gen looks around at the sudden change of scenery and allows his eyes to wander pass the vines, fruit and birds that were resting nearby.

“I also believe that Tsukasa might be afraid to what Senku could do. Especially in this stone world, where everything is brought back to square one.”

As [ f/n ] was talking, they were soon approaching a river to which caused Gen’s eyes to widen. And just over the other side of the river was the small shack, a fully capable hut with technology made from simple materials surrounding the perimeter of it. He gazed at the hut as [ f/n ] continued to walk, walking across the makeshift bridge to get to the other side. Gen pulls himself out of the dream like state and follows her, watching her draw back the animal hide curtains and revealing the inside of her home. Still amazed, he looks around the interior and walks inside as [ f/n ] was preoccupied with the sheep that was calling out to her from the corner of the room.

“[ f/n ]-dono..did you make this..all by yourself..?!”

“While I was away, I would try my best to make as many things that would be useful in the long run. Tsukasa doesn’t know about this, however, he wasn’t aware that I could even be capable to do something like this.”

[ f/n ] chuckles as she grabs a knife from the table next to her and starts to cut some of the wool off the sheep. Gen continued to look around, admiring the bamboo furniture before looking at the tall shelf with different types of cups with labels on them. While she was still shedding some of the sheep’s wool, she calls out to him and catches his attention.

“Please take a seat Asagiri-kun. I’ll serve you some tea.”

“Oh it’s alright [ f/n ]-dono, I don’t want to--”

“Please, I insist.” She turns around and gives him a small smile, causing him to slightly blush. He obeys and sits on the bamboo bench, his back straight and slightly awkward as he observes [ f/n ] walk around the room and grab the necessities. She holds the cup as she removes the lid from a pot, scooping the contents out and placing them into the cup. Once it was full, she gets another cup and fills up as well before walking back to Gen. She places cup down in front of him, the guest of the house bowing his head for a second before reaching out to hold his cup. 

[ f/n ] takes a seat on a bamboo chair, resting the brim of the cup on her lips as she drinks the liquid. As she drank, Gen observed her before looking down at his own cup and taking a precautious sip. His eyes widen as he pulls the cup away, smacking his lips softly before covering his mouth with his sleeve. 

“That is some..amazing tea, [ f/n ]-dono. How did you make this?”

“I was able to find some mint leaves and sun dried them for about 2 days. Then I can toss them into boiling water and the tea is set. It’s best served with a dash of honey as well.”

[ f/n ] chuckles as she places her cup on the table in front of them. Gen hums as he takes another sip from his drink, the [ h/c ] haired girl sitting close by was fidgeting with her thumbs. 

“Asagiri-kun..I would like to ask a favor from you, if it’s alright..”

“Yes, [ f/n ]-dono?”

“If Senku is alive..please come back to this base and tell me where he’s staying. I just..”

“Need reassurance?”

[ f/n ] smiles with a sad smile before she twirls he thumbs together, gently weaving her hands together. “Yes..he’s the person I love after all..” Gen stares at her with eyes slightly wide as he looks down at the cup of tea that was resting in his hands.

“Then..you’re not in a relationship with Tsukasa-chan?”

“No, I’m not. He confessed to me, yes. But the only reason why I’m staying with him is because leaving the empire would result in punishment. Or so I assume..”

Gen slightly flinches after finishing her sentence, a nervous laughter leaving his lips as there was a bit of sweat forming on his brow. [ f/n ] looks at him and gives him a small smile, rising from her seat as she was fiddling around to what looks like her kitchen. Gen finally coughs into his hand, straightening out his posture as he gazes at the [ h/c ] haired girl.

“That’s true..Tsukasa-chan does have the type of superiority to his leadership. Then..? If I were to do that favor for you, [ f/n ]-dono, what’s in it for me..?”

“I had a feeling you wanted something in return. That’s not to blame, especially with this environment that we live in now.” As she had her back facing him, Gen’s nose slightly twitches from the sweet aroma that he was suddenly smelling, a content sigh leaving his lips as his stomach churned with hunger. [ f/n ] soon turned around with a small plate of freshly baked bread, Gen’s eyes widening as his mouth started to water.

“Br-Bread!? You’re able to make bread, [ f/n ]-dono!?”

“There’s still a ton of things I would like to experiment but this is what I can offer for now. I hope you don’t mind.”

Gen cautiously leans forward and takes a piece, swallowing his saliva before taking a bite from the warm bread. His eyes widened as he wanted to shed joyful tears, chewing the bread as it was melting in his mouth and dissolving into his stomach when he swallowed the piece. [ f/n ] giggles at his reaction, causing him to get out from his dreamlike state and blush with embarrassment.

“How did you even make this, [ f/n ]-dono? This is..utterly delicious..thank you.”

“The recipe remains a secret until you tell me if Senku is alive. Other than that, I don’t mind feeding you. You’ve been with me for a few months now, I may also consider you as my dear friend.” [ f/n ] continues to giggle, taking her own piece of bread before placing another plate down for Gen to eat. He starts to help himself, chewing his second piece and going onto his third. But before he could reach for a fourth one, he looks at her and watches her fiddle with the piece of bread in her hands. Gen takes the moment of silence to gather his thoughts while drowning down the food with the tea she gave him. He sighed after finishing his tea, placing his cup down and turning to look at her before hiding his hands in his sleeves.

“I will agree with the terms you are offering for this favor of yours. To be honest, I also agree with being friends as well. It’s an honor, [ f/n ]-dono.”

Looking up, [ f/n ] smiles wide as she walks over to give him a hug and catching him off guard. His body is stiff as she pulls away to look at him, a heavy blush coating his cheeks as she laughs at his reaction.

“Thank you, Asagiri-kun. You’re the best.”

Gen looks up at her, his cheeks still flush as he looks away embarrassed. Looking at this reaction, [ f/n ] only laughs as she admires her newly announced friend before giving him more bread to eat. 

After staying in the hut for a bit longer, they finally decide to head back to Tsukasa’s empire and gathered some fruit on the way back. [ f/n ] held a basket with her left arm containing some fruit as well as vegetables that she found as well. Gen continued to keep her company as they made it back safely, heading towards the area to where the children stayed. Once the children saw her, they quickly stopped what they were doing to gather around and greet her. She greets them with a smile, a giggle escaping her lips when they were fighting for her affection. She guides them to sit in a circle as she shares the fruit with them, watching them eat the fruit happily as she took a seat off to the side. She started to talk to a few of the students, nodding along as they were telling her something. Gen was standing by the gate, observing [ f/n ] interact with the children before someone approaches him. He turns to see a blonde girl with pigtails, bowing her head slightly as she looks at [ f/n ] from the corner of her eye.

“Tsukasa-dono is asking for [ f/n ]-dono’s presence. He said that he wanted to talk to her.”

“Alright, we’ll head back. Thanks Nikki.”

The girl hums as Gen goes through the gate, walking over to [ f/n ]’s side to gently tapping her shoulder. She looks back at Gen, then back towards Nikki who was waiting by the gate. She sends her a small wave, causing her to softly blush and wave back as [ f/n ] stood from her seat. The children then started to ‘aww’ as they saw her packing up to leave, [ f/n ] turning back and giving them a smile.

“I’ll come back tomorrow and sing you all a song, okay?”

“Okay!!” They all chimed in unison, causing [ f/n ] to laugh. She then walks away while waving at them, the children gathering by the gate to send their goodbyes. [ f/n ] sighs as she continues to walk, Nikki and Gen following her back to Tsukasa. [ f/n ] hums as she could see Tsukasa’s cave in view, the familiar animal pelt curtains just a few steps away. Nikki then takes a few steps forward as she opens the curtains for her, [ f/n ] walking in as she gives a small thank you to the blonde female. There were more people in the cave this time, [ f/n ] noticing that there were two strangers in front of her with their backs facing her. But it didn’t take long for her to recognize who the two strangers were. Tsukasa sat up straighter once he saw her, causing his men to bow within her presence. 

“Welcome back.”

“I thought I told you that a formal greeting isn’t really that necessary.” She laughs as she looks at the long haired man. The two strangers turn around from the familiar sound of her voice, their eyes wide as they gazed at her. They were about to speak but [ f/n ] had moved passed them, causing them to stiffen on the spot. She continues to hold her gaze on Tsukasa, the man looking up at her from his seat.

“Would you mind if I show these people around the village? They’re going to be joining us, right?”

“..yes they are. I guess you can show them around but make sure to bring someone with you. I’ll be leaving with Ukyo to get food for dinner.”

[ f/n ] hums as she nods her head, turning back around to face the two strangers. They looked at her, [ f/n ]’s smile not faltering as they stayed quiet under her gaze. “Shall we go?”

The two strangers looked at each other with uneasiness as they agreed with her. [ f/n ] smiles as she walks pass them and headed out the same way she entered. Nikki opens the curtains for her, giving her another thank you as the two followed her out. Then, as soon as she was out - she turns back around to gaze at Gen to which he took the signal to leave. He gave a small bow to Tsukasa before following her out as Nikki closes the curtain behind them.

[ f/n ] was walking down the same path again, the two strangers watching her as Gen was walking behind the group. The pair didn’t dare to say anything as they continued to follow her towards an open area where the view from the forest and waterfall was present. 

“Asagiri-kun, if you could give me a moment to speak with them would be highly appreciated.”

“..yes [ f/n ]-dono.” Gen replies as he turns back around and steps away from the group. [ f/n ] stood with her back to them, her gaze out towards the setting sun as the breeze was passing by. The pair looked at each other before gazing at her, a female voice breaking the silence.

“[ f/n ]-chan..?”

[ f/n ] takes a deep breath as she slowly turns around to face them, her smile breaking as the pent up tears were falling down her cheeks. The pair was shocked as they watched her approach them, [ f/n ] letting out a sob as she wraps her arms around the female.

“Yuzuriha-chan..Taiju..I’m so glad that you’re alright..”

The pair finally broke their composure as they gathered together for a group hug, crying together as they hugged their dear friend. Taiju was practically howling with tears streaming down his face and caused Yuzuriha and [ f/n ] to laugh at his way of crying. They finally pull away from each other and try their best to catch up with one another, [ f/n ] complimenting Yuzuriha’s hair. 

“Wait, [ f/n ]-chan! If you’re awake, who revived you??”

“Tsukasa did. He apparently found me and revived me with some miracle water containing nitric acid.” [ f/n ] smiles just a bit, looking down at her clothes that she made using the original material Tsukasa covered her with. Yuzuriha hums as she looks at her, another question popping into her mind.

“They practically treat you like royalty here. Why is that?

“Ah well..it’s because I’m _technically_ Tsukasa’s woman.”

“EHH!? I THOUGHT YOU LIKE SENKU??”

[ f/n ]’s eyes widen as she quickly shushes him, waving her hands in front of him with embarrassment. Taiju quickly covers his mouth as they all look around, [ f/n ] looking at the path Gen took. After the result of no one showing up, they sighed with relief as [ f/n ] looked at the pair with a blush coating her cheeks.

“Ye-Yes..I still like Senku..”

“Then..why are you with Tsukasa?”

“Although it may not seem like it, but Tsukasa’s empire is rather dangerous. Leaving would cause him to start wondering if Senku’s still out there..”

“Wait..you know what happened with Senku?” Forcibly having to remember what she had witnessed on top of the mountain made her look away. Yuzuriha caught on as she holds her friend’s hand, giving her the comfort she could give. [ f/n ] looks at her and gives her a sad smile as she nods to Taiju’s question. 

“I know he’s not the type of person to go down without a fight. So I still believe in my heart that he’s still alive. And probably finding some people to help over throw Tsukasa, am I right?”

“Right on the dot, [ f/n ]-chan!” The [ h/c ] haired girl laughs as she gives them a determined smile. She takes Taiju’s hand with her free hand while she squeezes Yuzuriha’s hand with the other. She then smiles at them genuienly, causing Taiju and Yuzuriha to smile back.

“I really am grateful that both of you are together and alive..not only that, but you’re here too! It’s honestly a miracle.”

“You need to thank Senku for that. He’s the one who broke out first and started to help reviving people.”

[ f/n ] couldn’t help but feel her heart soar as she heard Senku was the one who saved all of them. She then took a deep breath as she looks at them, their smiles bright and bringing joyful memories together.

“It’s going to be a long process, but I need to catch you guys up. Are you ready?”

“Ready!!” The pair smiled at her as [ f/n ] couldn’t help but laugh. She then takes the chance to finally catch up on the plan she had formed to help build the Kingdom of Science in Tsukasa’s Empire right under his nose.


	8. Chapter 8

Taiju and Yuzuriha was able to adapt with the civilization within Tsukasa’s empire very easily. They even started to befriend the other people as they would socialize with them while doing their own tasks. However, that didn’t stop Tsukasa from keeping them under surveillance while they were living in the town. Gen approaches Tsukasa as he was sitting on his throne, Gen’s head slightly bowed as he folds his hands inside his sleeves.

“I’ll be leaving for that mission you assigned me, Tsukasa-chan.”

“I’ll be expecting a report back when you return.” Gen hums as he raises his head, making eye contact with [ f/n ] who stood by Tsukasa’s chair. She gives him a small smile before softly bowing her head, Gen returning the gesture as well. As he was leaving the empire, Gen closes his eyes for a moment as he remembers the conversation he had with [ f/n ] the night before his departure. 

_‘I have met other primitive humans when I was putting my secret base together. The one I met has blonde hair and blue eyes with blue clothing, while the other has the same clothing type but a child wearing a melon on her head. They know me as ‘Sensei’ so if you mention me, they will most likely listen to what you have to say.’_

_Gen looks at her as she was back in her base, putting away some folded cloth. He tilts his head to the side, a confused expression in his face._

_‘Are these primitive people revived from the stone?’_

_‘From the looks of their bodies, there were no cracks that I saw. However, that doesn’t mean you should under estimate how these people survive. Be careful when you see them, Asagiri-kun.’_

_[ f/n ] turns back to give him a small smile, looking away and chewing away on the bread she had offered to him._

_‘Don’t worry, [ f/n ]-dono. If they weren’t revived from stone, then they shouldn’t be that hard to fool.’_

_‘They’re nice people, Asagiri-kun. I don’t think getting on their bad side is a good idea. Plus..if our assumptions are correct and Senku is with them, then good luck handling what kind of technology they will have against you.’ [ f/n ] laughs as she puts the dishes away, causing him to pout from his spot._

Gen sighs as he opens his eyes, looking at the vast open space before he folded his hands in front of him and tucked them safely into his sleeves. After a moment to himself, he starts to move forward and passing the guards at the gate behind him. But it wasn’t until he takes a glance on top of a tall tree, his legs swinging back and forth as Gen gives the watchmen a small wave. The swinging stops as he continues to stare at him before he looks away, causing the mentalist (or so what Tsukasa finally called him) to laugh. It was that day when Asagiri Gen left to venture out the forest to confirm Ishigami Senku’s death.

After Gen’s departure, everything returned back to normal. [ f/n ] was free to do what she pleases, but she made sure it wasn’t something that would displease Tsukasa. Instead of having Gen by her side, Nikki had decided to take Gen’s place while he was away on his own mission. Nikki looked unapproachable and very stoic, however, she was just a shy girl who had a passion over Lilian Wienberg’s music. [ f/n ] would talk about her just to get Nikki to speak with her, the blonde girl immediately becoming embarrassed right after [ f/n ] was able to successfully get something out from her. As the two girls were walking around the village, the two decided to take a seat on a bench that was nearby, [ f/n ] placing the basket that she was holding in the space between the two. She reached in and gave Nikki a banana, the girl declining at first before [ f/n ] insisted again. She gratefully takes the fruit as they were eating together, watching people work together to build another house for another family. The rustle of leaves was heard from above, [ f/n ] still chewing on her fruit.

“Has he made it out safely?”

“Yes. He’s currently traveling south-east from the empire, [ f/n ]-dono.”

[ f/n ] hums as she continues to eat, finishing the fruit and placing the peel by the trunk of the tree. She digs a small hole before placing the peel inside, covering it up with the dirt she dug up. She looks up at the tree, giving the person a smile. “Why don’t you come down and join us for a snack, Ukyo-kun?”

“As much as I love to accept your offer [ f/n ]-dono, but I need to get back to work.”

“I don’t know if that’s the ‘thank you’ I’d like to hear after I gifted you a new bow, Ukyo-kun.”

The white haired male flinches from the top of the tree, looking down at the [ h/c ] haired girl with slightly flushed cheeks. He finally climbs down the tree, one knee on the ground as he slightly bows his head in shame. [ f/n ] reaches into her basket and hands him a banana, Ukyo accepting her gift (again) a bit embarrassed.

“Th-Thank you, [ f/n ]-dono.”

[ f/n ] had turned to look at him, the smile on her face never leaving as she gently scoots over and pats the space next to her. Nikki was slightly giggling from her spot, causing Ukyo to look at her with a soft glare. He takes a seat, peeling the banana open and taking a bite while leaning back into the bench. [ f/n ] sighs through her nose as she looks up at the sky, the white clouds passing by as the sky was starting to turn into a dark orange. 

“I should be thanking you two for believing in me..”

Nikki and Ukyo turn to look at her, silently taking in her appearance as she turns back to look at the two from both sides. Nikki only smiles with admiration and Ukyo blushes from embarrassment again. 

“Do you really think it's possible for someone in this world to save civilization?”

“I agree with Nikki here [ f/n ]-dono. Can it really be possible?”

“With Senku..he can accomplish anything. And I’m sure that Gen will be there to see it with his own eyes that it’s possible.”

[ f/n ] smiles with pride as she rose from her seat, turning around to face the two who were still sitting down. They looked up at her as she places both of her hands out towards them, Nikki and Ukyo waiting for her to say something.

“With your help, we can unpetrify everybody and help bring back humanity with no harm! What do you say?”

The two looked at her as Ukyo reaches out and shakes her hand, Nikki looking at them smile at each other. She looks at her hand, her palm facing up as [ f/n ] turns to look at her. Nikki looks up at [ f/n ] once more before reaching forward and shaking her hand as well, a small blush forming on her cheeks again. Then they looked at each other for a moment before bowing their heads, speaking in unison.

“Please take care of us.” [ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile at their agreement, squeezing their hands in return as she hums with excitement. Unaware of the trio, a tall white haired man stood from afar as he looks down upon the village, his eyes focused on the [ h/c ] haired girl as she laughs with Nikki and Ukyo. The mysterious man only hums as he leans against his weapon, watching the trio walked back together towards Tsukasa’s place. 

  
  


~~~~~~

  
  


Senku groans as he lays himself down on the ground, Chrome off to the side screaming about the newest knowledge about what the earth’s orbit was. He was starting to lose energy just from reciting all he knew about astronomy, he ended up zoning Chrome’s excited behavior out. He gazed up at the stars, the north star shining brightly from the sky as the breeze was gently passing by. Senku blinks as he lets his mind wander, his eyes searching the starry sky as Chrome finally cools down from his knowledge high.

“That’s so cool!! It’s strange how the stars stay in one place, right Senku?” Chrome sighed contently as he looks down at his fellow scientist, his happy expression turning into a confused one. Kohaku was sitting on top of a tree branch, looking down at the two men down below once she heard no science being spoken off. Chrome walks over to Senku and slightly waves his hand over his face, catching him off guard. Senku sits up from his position and clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks away from Chrome.

“So-Sorry, Chrome. What was your question?”

“Are you okay, Senku? I’ve never seen you space out like that before..”

Senku grinned towards Chrome’s question, causing him to look even more confused but was still caught off guard from the sudden change of attitude. “Of course I’m alright, what makes you say that?”

Kohaku observes the two converse as she swung her legs back and forth. She was leaning against the trunk of the tree, her arms crossed over her chest. It wasn’t until an idea struck in Chrome’s mind when he slowly inches closer to Senku and whisper something in his ear. He was confused at first but when he whispered something to him, Senku’s eyes widened for a moment before a massive blush coated his cheeks. Both Kohaku and Chrome looked at him with a surprised expression, Senku using all of the strength he had to push Chrome’s face away while using his other hand to cover his own blush. 

“Ehh!? Chrome!! What did you say??”

“I-I just asked i-if he was thinking about a girl or something!!”

“Wait..so does that mean..” 

Soon it was silent, the two villagers looking at their friend with a mischievous look. Senku looked at both of them, slightly nervous as he tried his best to cover his embarrassment with a scoff. “Wh-What are you guys looking at?”

Kohaku and Chrome only smiled as they slowly moved closer to him, trying to making him spill the beans. Senku started to sweat a little as he looks away again, slightly annoyed as he turned his back on them. He crosses his arms over his chest, not taking a glance to look at them anymore.

“Aww, come on Senku!! Won’t you tell us a little bit about this girl!?”

“Yes, yes Senku-sensei! It wouldn’t hurt to tell your dear old friends, right?” Kohaku cooes as she has jumped down from the tree, joining Chrome’s side as they were trying to give him puppy eyes. Senku looks over his shoulder to see them give him a playful pout, a look of disgust on his face as he tried not to gag. It was only then he lets out an annoyed sigh before turning around to face them, Kohaku and Chrome folding their hands together as they patiently waited for Senku to speak. 

“You two won’t let it down until I tell you something, won’t you?”

Both Kohaku and Chrome shook their heads as they sat in front of him, patiently waiting for him to tell the story. He looks down at them before he loudly exhales and takes a seat in front of them, his arms still crossed over his chest. Senku still gives them a skeptical look before he lets his mind wander towards the familiar [ h/c ] haired girl, which made his gaze softened towards the ground. 

“She..was the most curious girl I have ever met. She’s probably even more curious than me if it wasn’t science.”

Senku scoffs as he remembers how many books she would always carry in her arms and the excitement she expressed everytime she learned something new. 

“She loved to learn and try out new things, I sometimes questioned her stamina after joining so many sport clubs.”

The way Senku remembers was during middle school and highschool, she’ll come into the chemistry lab with a new item in her hand pertaining towards the club she joined every season. She’d hold a volleyball, basketball, shinai (swords used in Kendo!), bow and arrows, a saber and many more. Senku then sweats a little as he thinks further, digging into his memories of how reckless and aggressive she actually was.

“Not only that, but she was reckless, messy, rowdy and super loud! When we were younger, she would always try to mess with my things and just stay at my house for a ridiculously long time.”

Kohaku and Chrome started to sweat a little as Senku continued to go on a tangent about all of the little things that she did that bothered him, visible steam could be seen coming out of his ears. Senku huffed as he took the chance to catch his breath, looking off to the side as his eyes landed on a lone flower planted not too far away from them.

“Sh-She cou-couldn’t have been that bad, can she Senku? I’m sure she’s at least friendly..”

“...” Senku continued to stare at the lone flower, Kohaku and Chrome a little confused from his abrupt silence. Kohaku looked towards the direction that Senku was looking, her gaze looking at the flower as well. All she could do was give him a smile as she looks at him again, easing herself as a gentle breeze passes by.

“Even though she’s reckless and rowdy..you still love her, don’t you Senku?”

After Kohaku had stated what he wanted to say, Senku doesn't respond but his cheeks speaks for him as they start to turn into a bright red hue. Senku closes his eyes and huffs frustratedly before Chrome reaches forward and wraps an arm around his shoulders. He starts to cheer for him, causing the white haired male to try his best to push the other off. Kohaku laughs as she observes the two before looking up at the night sky, immediately thinking of the hooded figure that had helped her before Senku had showed up. Chrome looked at her as she was oddly quiet as well, confused about her sudden change of behavior too.

“And what are _you_ thinking about, Kohaku? You can’t possibly love someone too?! Oh gosh, I feel bad for that guy for having a gorilla on his back..”

Kohaku growls towards Chrome’s direction, causing him to quickly bow from his current position and apologize formally to her. She looks upon the north star was she remembers the kind person, a small smile forming on her lips as well.

“I’m just thinking about..how love can really move someone. And with you Senku, you’re really determined to find this girl just to reunite with her again. That’s amazing!!”

At this point, Kohaku had hearts in her eyes as she was fangirling to herself. Senku and Chrome watched her with a dead expression as they watched her do her own thing. But it wasn’t until Senku processed what she said before his cheeks started to bloom again to the familiar red hue. 

“Ugh, alright! Enough with the lovey-dovey stuff! Chrome, how did you even realize that the north star wasn’t directly north?”

After finally getting back to business, Senku stands with his friends as they start to walk back to their base for the night. But before Senku turns to take the dirt path back, his footsteps stop as he looks over his shoulder and up at the bright moon in the sky. He gazes at it as he unconsciously places his hand over his heart, softly clenching his shirt. 

_‘..you still love her, don’t you Senku?’_

Senku smirks as he unclenches his shirt, placing his hands on his hips. “Yeah..I still do.” he softly replies to himself and to no one in particular.

“Senku, let’s go! Let’s rest up so we can head to the river tomorrow!”

“Right, I’m coming.”

~~~~~~

  
  


Gen was softly panting from how far he has been traveling for. If he remembered correctly, it has probably been about four to five days since he left Tsukasa’s empire. Gen stops himself beside the river that he has been following, bending down to take a sip of water. After sighing with relief from the liquid circulating through his body he pulls away as he starts to brush his fingers through his hair. 

“Compared to Tsukasa-chan, he has the speed of a _god_ so he travels ten times faster than I do. But how far did this guy travel when he saw this ‘Senku’?”

Gen mumbles to himself as he took the time to stretch out his back and limbs. But as he was stretching, a sudden aroma filled the air as his nose started to sniff it out. Blinking from the familiar scent of chicken broth, he followed the scent and went back inside the forest to find the source of the alluring scent. As he was moving some branches out of the way, the sun’s glare started to fade away as Gen was able to get a clear view of a small group of people gathering around while eating what he had assumed was--

“Ramen..? In this stone world..?”

Gen started to make his way closer, revealing himself from the forest as the crowd was too busy enjoying the food they were given. As he gazed at the people speaking amongst themselves, he suddenly feels a small tug on his cloak and making him avert his eyes downwards.

“Here you go, mister! Try our ramen!”

Looking down at the little girl, he takes the dish from her hands before she quickly heads off towards the cart to grab another bowl to serve another person. As his eyes follow her, his gaze then lands on a male standing behind the ramen cart, making the bowls of ramen together as he was chatting with another person off to the side with a blue dress.

“Blonde hair..and a blue dress clothing material..”

_‘The one I met has blonde hair and blue eyes with blue clothing, while the other has the same clothing type but a child wearing a melon on her head.’_

Gen could only grin mischievously as he looks down at the ramen he was given, taking a sip of the broth. Gen exhales contently as he slowly eats the food, taking the chance to observe the white haired man. He watched a blonde girl with blue eyes speak to him, and the little girl that gave him the ramen approaching the pair as well. She was practically jumping from her spot, nodding excitedly after the blonde girl praised her. 

_‘Those two definitely fit [ f/n ]-dono’s description. Then I guess that leaves the white haired man as..Senku..’_

As Gen was halfway through with his ramen, he decided that it was time to take action. Gen stirs the contents in his bowl with his chopsticks, giving himself a break before taking a bit more of his food again.

“Ah..eating this ramen is making me crave something to drink. Something like..cola.”

Senku’s actions stop as he looks towards the source. He notices the stranger sitting off by himself, eating the ramen he was given. Kohaku notices Senku’s sudden pause, causing her to look where he was looking. He places his chopsticks down as he rubs his hands with a spare cloth attached to the cloth, soon placing it down.

“Do you know him, Senku?”

“No I don’t..” Senku replies with caution, crossing his arms over his chest as he fully turns around to take a better look at his guest. Kohaku soon takes a couple of steps as she stretches her back, calling out to Kinro and Ginro. She didn’t even have to say a full sentence as she gives them one look and they were soon on the same page. Not even blinking, all three were on Gen, the tips of their weapons pointing directly at him as they allowed him no space to move at all. Gen, however, remained unphased as he continued to drink his ramen broth while sighing contently while holding the bowl of ramen.

“Who are you!? Do you also work for that long haired man?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about..I’ve been alone this whole time and this is the first time I’ve met other humans on this island. Although, I’m not a threat, I don’t mind being taken down by a cute girl like you.”

Gen smirks as he fixes his gaze at Kohaku, who only tightens her grip against her weapons. Senku continues to observe him, a smirk falling onto his lips as he scoffs from the sudden act.

“I knew I’ve seen you somewhere before, you’re Asagiri Gen.”

“You’re acquainted with this guy?”

“Nope, I don’t even know him. The only reason why I recognize him is because students would bring up his stupid work and they wouldn’t stop talking about it.”

“It flatters me that you’ve seen my work, however, calling it stupid hurts me a little bit.” Gen replies with a pout on his lips as he shrugs his shoulders. Kohaku was about to attack the guy, but Senku stops her.

“As much as I’d like to continue the conversation, people who are given ramen didn't get it for free. There is a load of work waiting for those who took one.”

It was soon Senku’s turn to grin mischievously, his hands resting on his hips as he gazed at Gen with an evil glint in his eye. Gen was confused at first, but it wasn’t until he was dragged towards this machine where labor was mandatory for the meal he had eaten. He was huffing loudly as he was practically screaming, forcing his body to work pass his limit and feeling his arms almost fall off. Senku walks up behind him, the smirk etched on his lips as he gives him a triumphed look. 

“So, Asagiri Gen: how are Taiju and Yuzuriha doing?”

“I knew you were..going to make me..talk this way while..I’m busting my ass. But don’t worry. Taiju-chan has an endless amount of stamina that his help is much appreciated. You know that much, don’t you Senku-chan?”

Gen turns around to give him a suspicious smile, causing Kohaku to stop what she was doing to run to Senku’s side. She immediately pulls out her dagger, ready to take action. “He obviously works for the long haired man! Shall I kill him?”

“Hold on, idiot. Asagiri Gen - you obviously knew I was going to make you talk, what made you suddenly want to admit you’re working for Tsukasa now?”

Senku asks, his brows furrowing together as he practically demanded him for answers. Gen looks between the two of them, his gaze officially landing on Kohaku. She caught this and brought her guard up even further, giving him a glare as she tightened her hold on her weapon. He brings his hands together as they were hidden inside his sleeves, his smile turning from mischievous to a simple one.

“I was told that I would witness before my very eyes a chance of humanity being revived. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but the person who told me seemed very passionate. They spoke as if they were like..a _Sensei._ ”

At this word, Kohaku’s eyes widened as she lowers her weapon, catching Senku’s attention. He looks between the two, suddenly confused from the sudden change of atmosphere. Suika happened to be within earshot as she heard the familiar name, her gaze turning towards the trio not too far away. 

“Sensei..? You know..?”

“Sensei!? Is she here?” Suika asks excitedly as she runs over to Kohaku’s side, Chalk right behind her with a happy expression. Kohaku looks down at Suika and shakes her head, giving her a forced smile before telling Suika to go back and help Chrome. Suika’s expression shifts from happy to sad as she softly complies, about to turn and walk away. However, she gives Gen one glance before fully turning around and walking up to him.

“You’re close with Sensei, right? Do you know if she’ll be coming to visit us soon?”

 _‘She?’_ Senku catches on, crossing his arms over his chest as he tries to figure out what was going on. He continues to observe the interaction, thinking that maybe they’ve had an interaction in the past.

_‘No, if they knew each other then Kohaku wouldn’t have reacted the way she did. Maybe there’s a middle man in this..someone that they both know..’_

“It will depend with Sensei. But I will make sure to tell them.” Gen smiles before reaching out and patting the melon headed girl. She gives Gen a satisfied smile before leaving the trio and going back to where Chrome was to play with Chalk. Gen then turns to look at Senku, the smile still on his lips as he lets his hands rest at his sides.

“After seeing all of these nice things, I thought this was a great turn of events of who I should side with. Despite having all of these nice things, it requires a lot of blood, sweat and tears to achieve them. However, Tsukasa’s empire requires little effort of working but the meals are pretty simple. It’s a tough bargain I must admit. In the end, I will be the one to rise to the top and be the one above all of you.”

Gen replies, shrugging his shoulders as he watches the white haired man folded his arms across his chest as he listens. Senku then scoffs after hearing his story, a smirk then etched on his lips again as he looks at him directly.

“I see. It is ultimately up to what you want, however, right after seeing what the Kingdom of Science has to offer - you’re going to want to stay with us than Tsukasa’s.”

Senku then leaves their discussion circle to join Chrome who was in the process of breaking the clay furnace. Senku then goes over to wrap himself with animal hide, wearing large gloves as he carefully took the molten iron out. As he carefully poured it into a mold, Gen’s eyes widened from their massive improvement in this stone world. And just within a few moments, the hot metal had solidified and was raised into the sky as people began to cheer.

**_Acquired:_ ** _Iron!_

After witnessing the achievment that they have been working on, a thunderstorm had started to pass by. Despite the circumstances that they were in, this was a perfect chance for the Kingdom of Science. Senku’s plan was to turn the large bar of iron into a magnet, needing the lightning to strike the piece of metal to achieve their objective. But as they were trying to prepare for it, the larger male with blonde hair known as Magma had started to make his way towards their direction. Suika gasped as she caught everyone’s attention, calling out to the others and sending them a warning.

“Bad news! Magma is coming!”

“Shoot, this isn’t the right time to be having a war against the village..what should we do?” Gen was observing the whole situation, standing by the side lines as he watched the scene starting to unfold. Gen then fought his own conscious, letting a sigh leave him as he took a step forward, standing by Suika.

“I guess there’s no other choice, is there? Would you mind getting me a batch of flowers, Suika-chan?”

It wasn’t long for Gen to fool Magma and his groupies, using the oldest trick in the book to make the flowers in his hands disappear into thin air. Magma’s groupies had started to panic from the strange sourcery, looking towards their boss as they gave him pleading looks to escape. And just like that, Magma retreated but not before sending a malicious glare towards the mentalist. Senku smirks as he gives him an appreciated nod as he walked back, going back to their task while gathering their materials to climb up the tallest mountain and catch the lightning. 

As the rain was pelting down from the sky, [ f/n ] gazed outside of the cave as she held one of the younger children closer to her. She was currently staying in the children area, soothing the youngest one of the bunch as another flash of lightning struck from the sky. The kids yelped in fear as they continued to huddle around her, turning towards them and taking turns to pet their hair. She was softly humming to them, her soft voice echoing within the area as she did her best to stay strong. 

“[ f/n ]-dono. The storm should be subsiding soon. Once it stops, Tsukasa-dono requests for you. I hope you don’t mind that I escourt you back.”

She looks at the source of the voice, her hands still petting the hair of the youngest child. She recognizes him, giving him a smile as she nods towards his idea.

“I would appreciate that, Hyouga-kun. Thank you very much. I hope you don’t mind staying here until the storm subsides though, I don’t want you to get soaked either.”

“Please, [ f/n ]-dono. It will be a complete honor to stay and protect you.” The man replies, bowing his head for a moment before placing his weapon down by his side. [ f/n ] continues to gaze at him before humming a reply, causing him to look up from his current position. He watches her continuing to soothe the children, his weapon not too far from him as he allows his hand to brush the spear behind him.

_“It will be..a complete honor..[ f/n ]-dono.”_


	9. Chapter 9

Thunder struck once more, the rain coming down even faster as [ f/n ] was still doing her best to comfort the children. Hyoga was kneeling behind her, his hand brushing against the small weapon that was hidden within his cloak. As he was waiting for thunder to strike again, [ f/n ] turns to look at him with a smile on her face, causing him to pull away from the weapon.

“Will Homura-san be joining us? I don’t want her to be out in the rain for too long. She could get sick.”

Hyoga’s eyes widened for a moment as he watched her turn away from him and look towards a tree that was outside of the children’s area. Hyoga’s eyes shifted over to the larger plant, noticing the pink haired girl sitting in the tree and trying to hide herself from view. 

‘ _How did she..did Homura slip up and see her there?’_

“Hyoga-kun? Is everything alright?”

“Yes..everything is alright. I’ll call her quickly so she doesn’t get sick..” Hyoga gives Homura one glance and she was already by his side, kneeling beside him and in front of the [ h/c ] haired girl. [ f/n ] smiles as she takes her coat off, moving to gently place the coat over her shoulders and catching the pink haired girl by surprise.

“You were out in the rain, so stay warm okay?”

“Ye-Yes..[ f/n ]-dono..”

As she had humbly accepted her gift, the rain had become quieter than it was before and causing everyone to gaze outside. Although it was sprinkling outside, the clouds had started to pass and the sun was shining brightly down them. The children had started to cheer excitedly, rising from where they sat and ran outside to start playing again. [ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile at the scene before her, giving herself a moment before turning around to the duo behind her. 

“Well then, shall we take our leave?”

“Yes, [ f/n ]-dono.”

They replied in unison as they rose from their spot to lead the way. [ f/n ] waves towards the children as she leaves with Hyoga and Homura, the children also seeing them leave. They waved at the trio until they couldn’t see them anymore, [ f/n ] letting a content sigh as he smile didn’t falter. 

“Ah, the children are so cute, aren't they?”

“They’re so noisy..I can’t believe you can stand them for that long.”

“I’ve been getting that a lot recently.” [ f/n ] laughs as she waves towards a couple who was staring at her way, catching them by surprise. They quickly bowed and smiled at her direction, waving back.

“Did you have siblings, [ f/n ]-dono?”

“Sadly, no. But I was apart of a childhood development program that was hosted by the community university from my area. My school was eligible for hosting those types of programs and since I was recommended by my teachers, I took the chance.”

[ f/n ] explains as they were getting closer to Tsukasa’s quarters. Hyoga takes a step forward as he pulls the animal hide away, allowing [ f/n ] to enter. She looks back at the two of them, giving them a bow.

“Make sure to properly dry yourself okay, Homura-san? I don’t want you to get sick.”

“I’ll make sure to do that, [ f/n ]-dono. Thank you for the concern.” Homura then removes the coat [ f/n ] had let her borrow, gladly taking the coat back. 

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to take a nap. Thank you again for escorting me, even though you didn’t have to.”

“It’s an honor, [ f/n ]-dono. Please have a good night's rest.”

[ f/n ] nods as she smiles, pulling the curtain down and taking a few steps into the cave. However, she could still see the two figures standing by the door, discussing amongst themselves. 

“Shall we head towards Tsukasa-dono’s training grounds?”

“Yes. There’s still a few more things I’d like to examine [ f/n ]-dono on. It bothers me that she’s being far too respected around here..”

“Could it be..that she’s the actual ruler of this empire?”

“Again, I need to observe her a bit more. I can’t help it but think she’s too suspicious. When she wakes up, make sure you’re here to be her escort. I’ll ask Tsukasa-dono some questions..”

“Yes, Hyoga-sama.” And within the blink of an eye, Homura was gone. [ f/n ] still stood by the door, her breathing still as she kept her eye on the last shadow. It stood there for a few moments before the sound of ruffled clothes was heard and it had soon disappeared from within sight. [ f/n ] softly exhales as she quietly walks further within the cave, one of the guards taking notice of her presence. He quickly bows, [ f/n ] putting up a smile as she gently pats his shoulder and catches him by surprise. 

“I will be taking a nap in my room, okay? If you could tell people not to disturb me, I would appreciate it very much.”

“O-Of course, [ f/n ]-dono. And if Tsukasa-dono calls for you?”

“He’s smart enough to not mess with me when I’m asleep. Well then, if you’ll excuse me.” [ f/n ] laughs as the guard bows, stepping aside to allow her into her room. Gently pushing the animal hide back to its original spot, she looks around in her living space and starts to make her way towards her sleeping area. She takes a few things and sorts them on top of the hay, taking off her coat and placing it on top. She starts to make it seem like she was sleeping, placing the blanket over the arranged items and smirking at her master piece.

“Sneaking out has its perks.” [ f/n ] whispers to herself as she moves over from behind the bedding, grabbing her cloak with her hood and the quiver with her bow and arrows. Equipping herself in her coat, she tucks her hair into her hood and puts on her face mask. Moving to the corner of her room, she moves the clay pots to the side and moves a hidden wooden plank to the side. Grabbing the placed rope, she dangles from it for a second to rearrange the clay pots and a plank of wood to cover her tracks. After successfully doing so, she huffs as she climbs her way back down towards the ground and gently planting her feet on the surface. 

She looks around for any person in sight before tucking the rope behind the mossy patch of the mountain. She turns back around, doing a double check for anybody around and smiles, soon sprinting off towards her secret base. [ f/n ] weaves through the tree branches, giggling as she stops on a tree branch to allow herself to stress. 

“Man, as much I love kids - they really take a toll on your energy.” She sighs as she takes a seat on the branch. She looks back, looking at the tall structure and the progress Tsukasa had made within the last few months. [ f/n ]’s gaze only saddens just a bit as she looks forward, only becoming more determined. 

“I hope you’re doing well on your end Senku..”

[ f/n ] soon stands to her feet and hurries onto the same path, seeing her base coming into view. She lets out a content sigh as she crosses the bridge, cooing softly at the growing sheep that was calling out to her. 

“Poyo! I know it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen you. Your wool has been coming in very handy during the chilly nights back at Tsukasa’s place.”

[ f/n ] laughs as she reaches out to pet the sheep, watching it ‘baa’ happily while wagging its small tail. She had noticed it stopped walking while she was petting it, humming at the action as she went to check his food and water bowls. 

“You’ve been taking breaks, that’s good! I don’t want you to be forcing yourself to work.”

Poyo only responds with another ‘baa’ as it nudges her hand to pet it some more. [ f/n ] happily complied for a few more minutes before making her way inside the shack. She looks at the burning clay furnace, the bright red stones illuminating the room. Taking a small peak, her smile widens as she sees the molten liquid boiling inside, causing her to quickly fetch her apron. She reaches towards a nearby shelf, grabbing a few planks of wooden molds and places them on the ground. Carefully protecting herself, she slowly takes out the molten liquid and pours it to fill the molds. 

“Thankfully I didn’t have to stay up for about 30 hours trying to smelt this natural material, but I should definitely treat Poyo later.”

[ f/n ] chimes as she looks at the hardening material, soon breaking the mold and looking down at the new acquired material. 

_**Acquired:** Iron!_

“Suika and Chalk are practically resource material radars. I need to thank them too..”

[ f/n ] looks over to her desk filled with a bunch of paper, a lone magnetic rock keeping the magnetic sand attached to its body. On the side of it was an attempt portrait of Suika and Chalk with a following note that read: For you Sensei! 

She couldn’t help but laugh at the adorable gesture, grabbing the note and tucking the piece of paper safely away. Poyo’s calls could be heard, causing the [ h/c ] haired girl to go outside to answer his calls. She goes over and gently pets it, looking out towards the setting sun. 

“I need to get back before someone notices..” she quickly starts making moves by cleaning up her mess, grabbing the piece of iron that she made and tucking it in between her two largest shelves. After inspecting the area, she grabs her things and starts to venture back towards the empire. But as soon as she was heading back, she feels herself stop and slowly turn back around with her hand clenching the fabric by her stomach. The air was still and for a moment, there was complete silence. 

“This doesn’t feel right..” [ f/n ] whisper as she quickly makes it back to her shack to grab a different weapon. Searching through the source of touch, she grabs the hilt of the spear before quickly leaving and running into the forest.   
  


**~~~~~~**   
  


_‘[ f/n ]-dono..please tell me this is all a dream. This is utterly INSANE!!’_

Gen stood by, slightly shaking on how much progress he has made while he was there. Not only did Senku create iron, but he had successfully made magnets, a generator and now he was able to successfully run electricity! Gen looked at the white haired male as he places two copper wires together with a piece of bamboo, the electricity running through and creating the first light bulb in 3,700 years. They all looked at the great light with astonishment, Senku smirking down at the successful turn out. The light soon died down, the piece of bamboo breaking and the light soon fading away from the dark night. 

Chrome was cheering excitedly, Senku pulling the wires away as they started to clean up for the night. Gen approaches Senku as he was climbing down their hut, waiting for him to get back down safely. He grunts when his feet touch the ground, looking at their guest as he crosses his arms over his chest. 

“You are truly insane, Senku-chan. But I have to admit, I had fun here even when I had to bust my ass just to receive it.”

“It’s worth it though, isn’t it.” Senku smirks as he shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, making Gen laugh for a moment. Senku was soon being called by Chrome to discuss what to do next, looking at Gen with his guard up just a bit. 

“It seems like I’ll take my leave then, Senku-chan. Thank you for the strange service of hospitality.” Gen said as he turns around, waving a hand in the air. Senku watches him leave before he’s being called over again by Chrome and Kohaku. As Gen stops in his tracks, the door to their hut closes as they start to talk amongst themselves making him look back for a second. He took this chance to look around the area, his hand gently brushing against their new invention. Gen huffs as he starts to leave the primary village, but was only able to get so far when he heard a few sticks break from behind him. 

“Huh?”

Before Gen could register anything, a strong force completely knocks him off his feet and brings him down - the pain starting to kick in immediately. Gen coughs as he turns back to look at the culprit, his body shaking from the sudden force. He could see the spear coming into view and was about to brace for impact, but no pain whatsoever came. He opens his eyes as he sees someone stands before him, holding the spear up with another spear and roughly guiding it away. Upon closer inspection, he immediately recognizes the cloak and gasps. 

“[ f-f/n ]-dono!? How—!?”

“Don’t say my name too loud, Asagiri-kun..hurry and head back to Kohaku and the others. I’ll take care of this guy..”

[ f/n ] grunts as she was able to forcibly kick the spear away from his grasp, angering the larger male. Gen worries a bit more before taking the chance to run away back to the others. [ f/n ] takes a deep breath as she exhales, the man revealing himself from the dark as he smirked with triumph.

“A woman huh. Why don’t you take off the cloak and become my woman, huh? I doubt someone as tiny as you would have a chance to take me on!”

“We’ll see about that.”

As Gen was soon out of earshot from the fighting duo, he gives [ f/n ] one last glance before running closer to Chrome’s hut. Seeing that Gen was able to make it out safely, she adverts her attention to the brute male and watches him crack his knuckles. Making the first move, he steps forward to punch her, only for [ f/n ] to deflect his punch elsewhere and expose him into a defenseless stance. 

She struck the inside of his arm by ramming her elbow and causing him to yelp in pain. Upon the close proximity, she jabs her knee into his stomach and grabs his head before ramming his face into her knee. And before the large man could even strike a punch, he was already unconscious and had let his body hit the ground. 

[ f/n ] inhales then exhales after knocking the man out, unaware of the audience that stood nearby. They all stood there in shock, Gen standing right beside them with what looks like a bandage placed on his wounded cheek. 

“Sensei..that was incredible..”

“Sensei!!” Suika calls out as she runs up to her side and hugs her. Caught by the sudden hug, she looks down at the child and gently placed her hand on the melon she wore on her head. She smiles behind her mask as she rubs her head in a soothing motion, Kohaku stepping forward and giving her a smile as well. 

“So you’re the Sensei that these guys keep talking about. That was one way to take down the village’s biggest brawn. _Who are you anyway?”_

She turns around at the sound of a familiar voice questioning her, Senku leaning against one of the trees with his arms crossed over his chest. [ f/n ] started at him, the pacifying motion she was giving to Suika coming to a stop. She couldn’t speak, her eyes still holding eye contact as she tightens her hold on her weapon. She clenches her jaw before averting her gaze towards Gen, which caught Senku’s attention. 

“I need to return back. Make sure to report back to Tsukasa-dono about your discovery and..” [ f/n ] turns to look at the white haired man, making him bring up his guard. As soon as he sent her a confused glare, [ f/n ] turning back to look at Gen again. 

“..tell him that this man is dead. I’ll be waiting for your return.”

And with one final pat on Suika’s head, she takes a step back before disappearing from their sight. They all looked around, amazed that she was able to disappear within thin air. 

“Who was that!? Kohaku, do you know that person??”

“Sensei gifted me a new pot when I was fetching spring water for Ruri-nee a few months ago. She has also been taking good care of Suika and I when we would visit her.”

“She has a base?”

“She hasn’t been coming back as often..she might’ve been dealing with trouble while she was away.”

Senku listens to their conversation as he grasps his chin with his hand. He looks down at the unconscious Magma and gently kicks his side, thinking and keeping his mind occupied of the suspicious figure that had helped defend Gen from danger. 

‘ _This Sensei person has definitely peaked my interest. What does this person know..’_

Back with [ f/n ], she was practically sprinting back to Tsukasa’s empire and not letting up a chance to take a break. She was able to weave her way through the forest and back to the empire, digging through the moss to find the rope. After successfully doing so, she climbs up and into the hole of her room as she turns around to do her best to cover it up again. After making it back and placing the clay pots back, she lets her hands lean against the pot that was keeping her up - letting her head hang from exhaustion. She tries to catch her breath as she removes the mask, her tears falling freely as she practically drops it to try and wipe her tears away. 

“He’s..alive..and well..”

[ f/n ] whispered as she couldn’t help but sob into her hands, joy filling her heart as she starts to smile. But as she was celebrating his well being, there was a knock that makes her gasp from her spot. She looks back at the entrance and quickly takes off her cloak, her quiver and bow as she tucks them back to their original spot. 

“Ye-Yes?” Tsukasa walks in, a soft smile on his face as he pulls the hide back. He quickly notices the tears and moves closer to her, wiping her tears away as she looks at him for a second before looking away. 

“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“I’m sorry..I just had a nightmare..”

Tsukasa continues to look at her face, trying to see if there was any sign of distress. He lets his forehead rest against hers, making her jump a little from the forwardness. She looks at him, Tsukasa holding eye contact as he gently caresses her cheek. 

“You don’t have a fever, do you..?”

“No I..I don’t think so..”

Tsukasa pulls away before observing her again, [ f/n ] looking down with a bit of embarrassment. He continues to stare before he reaches out, pushing her chin up to have her look at him. [ f/n ] follows this, looking into his eyes as she was confused from the closeness and his touches have been more frequent lately. She blinks, her brows furrowing as he doesn’t do anything but hold her chin up towards his direction. 

“Tsukasa..?“

Then as he takes one step forward closer to her, he places his free hand on the small of her lower back and pushes her forward. She was pressed against his chest now as her hands ultimately press against his chest. And in one swift movement, Tsukasa pulls her close enough to bring his lips pressed against hers. [ f/n ] stiffens on the spot, her eyes widening in disbelief. 

_Eh..?_


	10. Chapter 10

[ f/n ] stood stiffly as she was trying to process what was happening. Swirls were starting to form in her eyes as Tsukasa moved a bit, pulling away for a second before pressing his lips against hers _again_. She presses her hands against his biceps, moving a little as she pulls away from him to catch her breath. He looks down at her, holding her still as she looked away with embarrassment and covering her mouth with her hand.

_‘Oh my gosh, did that really happen?? I GUESS THAT HAPPENED?? WHAT DO YOU SAY AFTER THAT?!?’_

“[ f/n ]? Are you okay?”

“Ye-Yeah-- I’m fine, I’m _totally_ fine. Yup.”

Her face was practically red now as steam was slowly coming out of her ears as she buried herself within Tsukasa’s chest. She was too embarrassed to face him, Tsukasa looking down at her as he was a bit anxious from the sudden move he did on her.

“Er--I’m sorry for kissing you so suddenly..You seemed distracted lately and I wanted to help get your mind off of it. I hope you it was okay..”

“Eh? I mean - It was great! I mean! It’s okay! I just--that was _technically_ my first kiss..so..I’m sorry..my response wasn’t as good..”

She looks up at him sheepishly, Tsukasa blinking at her sudden change of behavior. He then inhaled softly and turns away, hiding his mouth with his hand as he allows his blush to cover his cheeks. [ f/n ] was confused, however, looking up at him and wondering why he turned away so suddenly. 

“Tsukasa? What happened, are you okay?”

“To be honest [ f/n ]..I just really want to kiss you again so bad..” Tsukasa looks over his shoulder to glance at her, making her blush from the sudden confession again. She was about to try and say something that wouldn’t make things awkward but there was a knock on her door that caught their attention. Both [ f/n ] and Tsukasa look over to who knocked, the person peeking his head through the door. 

“Sorry to bother you [ f/n ]-dono but--oh! Tsukasa-dono! Hyoga-dono wanted to speak with you.”

“Ri-Right..I’ll be right out..” Tsukasa replies as the soldier leaves the room, leaving the two alone again. They continued to stand at an awkward distance, no one saying anything as they were trying their best to cool down their blushes. 

“I’ll..let you do your thing. I’m probably going to try and get some sleep for the night..”

“Alright, you rest up okay?”

[ f/n ] looks at him and smiles shyly before watching him head towards her door. However, Tsukasa stops and looks over his shoulder to glance at her fixing her bed. He bites his lip for a second and turns back, going up to her and catching her wrist. [ f/n ] looks up at him with a confused expression before he leans down and pecks her lips, catching her by surprise. 

“Goodnight [ f/n ]. I’ll see you in the morning..”

“Okay..” She softly whispers as he sends her a smile and leaves her room. [ f/n ] stands alone in her room as she tries her best to cover her cheeks, feeling the heat rise as she laid in her bed and cover herself with her blanket.

_‘Omgomgomgomgomg oh my gosh I’m a terrible person!! My heart goes to another person but I allowed someone else to kiss me!!? Oh my gosh what am I going to do..!?’_

[ f/n ] groans as she looks at her ceiling, her cheeks still flustered from the previous action that Tsukasa has done. She groans once more as she places her arm over her eyes, closing them shut and letting out a quiet sigh.

“I was really hoping that Senku would be my first kiss..but Tsukasa was so gentle and sweet..”

[ f/n ]’s eyes widen as she raises her arms in the air, gasping loudly as she sits up from her bedding. A new level of embarrassment went by as she hid underneath her blanket, swinging her legs around as she was trying to cool down her embarrassment.

_‘NONONONO!! [ F/N ] STOP THAT!! OH MY GOSH!! I CAN’T BELIEVE I SAID THAT OUTLOUD!!’_

As she was doing her best to not scream, the guard that was keeping watch could only chuckle awkwardly as he held onto his spear, scratching his cheek from hearing the rustling from her room. 

“I hope [ f/n ]-dono is alright..”

[ f/n ] sighs as she looks at her ceiling again, allowing her hands to rest on her cheeks as she closes her eyes. Her mind wanders to the white haired man that she had seen when saving Gen, the way he was leaning against the tree and looking at her so seriously. As she opens her eyes, she turns to her side and closes them again, trying her best to get some rest.

_‘I’m sorry Senku..please forgive me..’_

**~~~~~~**

“HE KISSED YOU!!?!”

[ f/n ] jumps from how loud their voices were, quickly pressing her finger to her lips as she tries her best to shush them. She looks at Taiju and Yuzuriha, who was sitting in front of her, and she started to look away from their gaze as she could feel her cheeks feeling flustered again.

It’s been about a couple days since the first time Tsukasa had kissed her and [ f/n ] has been noticing that he’s been far more affectionate with her lately. When they were alone together, he would ask her if it was okay with her to cuddle. Or when they were walking around the village, he would initiate on holding hands as they observed the colony. [ f/n ] was doing her best to hold in her embarrassment but as it was slowly building up, she could literally feel herself burning out. She was finally able to have a chance to talk to Taiju and Yuzuriha about it, but they were still gnawing over the fact that Tsukasa was that type of person to express affection publicly.

“Oh my gosh..how is Senku going to react when he hears about this..?”

“Pl-Please don’t mention anything about that!! Just thinking about it stresses me enough..I just hope that he won’t misunderstand anything..”

Yuzuriha only chuckles awkwardly as she gently pats [ f/n ]’s shoulder. Taiju hums as he was about to say something but was soon glared at by Yuzuriha and shaking her head furiously before pressing her finger to her lips.

“I-I’m sure Senku won’t misunderstand! Plus..what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him right?”

“Yeah, I assume so..”

Suddenly, Ukyo shows up behind [ f/n ] with his head bowed as he kneels on one knee. Taiju and Yuzuriha jumping from the sudden appearance of another person they hardly recognize. Noticing their jump, [ f/n ] looks over her shoulder and looks at the blond haired boy who kneeled there quietly. [ f/n ]’s expression soon changes as she turns to look at him, her smile falling into a neutral expression.

“Where is he?”

“He’ll be arriving soon, [ f/n ]-dono. You’re also requested by Tsukasa-dono as well. Asagiri-kun should be heading straight to Tsukasa-dono as soon as he gets here.”

“Al-Alright..I’ll head over to Tsukasa right now..”

[ f/n ] slightly blushes again before rising from her seat, Taiju and Yuzuriha following right after her. She looks at her friends and gives them a smile, reaching out and giving them hugs as well. “I will see you guys later, alright?”

“You got it!”

“Good luck with Tsukasa, [ f/n ]-chan.” Yuzuriha replies with, making her slightly groan and try her cover her face with her hands. She waves at them before she leaves, meeting up with Nikki and heading back to his throne room. Nikki also leaned close to [ f/n ], whispering her opinion towards her.

“I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this [ f/n ]-dono..”

“What is it, Nikki?”

“..but I think you and Tsukasa-dono make a really cute couple.” [ f/n ] looks at her in disbelief before she lets her head dangle for a moment, causing the blonde haired girl to look at her with a confused expression. [ f/n ] awkwardly laughs it off before they were making their way up towards his room, Nikki pulling the animal hide back to allow her entry. As she enters, Tsukasa was sitting in his chair, talking to one of the guards there. As he turns around to see who entered, he smiles and rises from his seat to meet her half way. He takes her hand into his, leaning down and gently kissing her cheek. Everyone in the room smiled at the interaction, Nikki who was fangirling a bit as [ f/n ] looked away sheepishly. 

“Did you just come back from the children’s area?”

“No, I was talking to Taiju and Yuzuriha earlier. We were just catching up while we had the chance.”

Tsukasa hums as he leads her back towards his chair, sitting on it. [ f/n ] was about to stand right beside him but he didn’t let go of her hand and just tugged her back, causing her to land on his lap. [ f/n ] stiffly sat on Tsukasa’s lap as he wrapped his arms around her, burying his nose into her neck. All guards and Nikki gasped from the sight, their cheeks blushing as [ f/n ] was practically fuming. She looks at all of them with a glare and hisses towards them, catching them by surprise.

“Wh-What are you guys looking at??”

They all jumped from the sudden change of her voice, going from sweet to affirmative as they quickly listened to her and looked away from the pair. Tsukasa chuckles as his breath hits her neck, causing her to shiver just a bit.

“It’s refreshing to hear you raise your voice, its nice. You sound like a true leader..”

“Ye-Yeah well..I don’t really like using it since I’m always afraid people will just turn away from me.”

“You should use it more often. It suits you.” Tsukasa softly whispers the last part as he tightens his hold around her waist, causing her blush to darken. She looks away from his general direction, but that only gave him access to place a soft kiss on her neck. She yelps from the affection again, causing him to chuckle. But before he could continue, Ukyo comes into the room with his hand holding up the animal hide.

“Tsukasa-dono. Asagiri-kun has returned.”

“Ts-Tsukasa-chan!”

Right on cue, Gen runs into the cave as he was panting while trying to catch his breath. [ f/n ]’s eyes widened as she sits up from her current sitting position, watching him taking a moment to find his voice. While panting, he looks up at Tsukasa, noticing where [ f/n ] was but didn’t question it. Gen’s clothes were almost torn and he was ruffled up to the point where you could visibly see scratches on his face and skin. 

“Asagiri Gen: What is your report?”

“I-I ran into a primitive village that was south-east from the empire. I asked about Senku-chan and they had no clue who I was talking about. They beat me up before I escaped but..Senku-chan..is nowhere to be seen.”

Tsukasa hummed contently as he smirks, the other soldiers also approving at what they heard. However, [ f/n ] sat there with a saddened expression, her eyes cast downwards as she places her hand over her mouth. Tsukasa had noticed this, loosening his hold on her as she slowly gets up on her feet, turning around to look at him. [ f/n ] gives him a weak smile as she bows her head slightly, and keeping it there.

“Tsukasa, I want to treat Asagiri-kun’s wounds. I’m just going to take him to the infirmary, okay?”

“..alright. I’ll be waiting for your return for dinner.”

[ f/n ] raises her head as she nods, turning back around to look at Gen. He bows his head slightly as she covers her mouth with her sleeve, leading the way out as Nikki opens the curtains for her. As they were walking out of his cave, Gen continues to follow her and watches her back as they enter the other passage towards her shack, [ f/n ]’s head soon held high.

“Wow..I knew you are technically labeled as Tsukasa’s woman but I didn’t think you were going to live up to that.” 

“I-It was up until recently that he’s started showing affection publicly..” [ f/n ] sighs as she pulls away the animal hide to the side, allowing herself to walk in and Gen following her afterwards. As Gen looked around, he had noticed a change of items placed in the room. And it wasn’t until he noticed the same material Senku had made was lying in the corner of the room next to the furnace.

“Wait, hold on. You’re telling me that you were able to make iron, too!?”

 _“‘Too’_? What do you mean by that? Did Senku make iron as well?”

“Yes he did! And I was one of the people who had to pump air into the fricken furnace!!” [ f/n ] looked at him as he took a seat with a pout on his lips, while crossing his arms over his chest. She couldn’t help herself but let laugh at the thought, making herself tear up just a bit just form picturing it.

“Oh my gosh, that’s something he would’ve totally done! What did he do, bribe the other people in the process of helping him melt the magnetic sand?”

“What are you, psychic? You should be the one called the mentalist.” [ f/n ] laughs as she fills a bowl with water and grabs a few cloths that were stored to the side of the smaller shelf. 

“No, it was just a guess. It’s honestly something that I would see him do. After all, he did something like that one time when one of his classmates refused to participate in a group project once.”

“A-Ah..I see..”

Gen replies nervously as [ f/n ] hands him a damp cloth, the male gently taking it and starting to wipe his face from the dirt. While he was doing that, [ f/n ] had started to fix up some tea and bread for the two of them and get down to business. She placed the cup in front of him, Gen softty thanking her as he continued to clean himself up. She also placed a fresh bowl of baked bread, taking a seat on the other couch available as she takes a sip of her tea.

“So what was the last think you heard of before leaving for the empire?”

“There’s going to be a match to determine who will be the next village chief and marry the chief’s daughter, Ruri.”

“Is it like a competition?”

“A bracket fight, yes.” [ f/n ] nods as she takes another sip of her tea, sighing contently as Gen does the same. He reaches out and takes a piece of bread, biting into it before it had gotten too cold. She allows him to finish the piece before asking another question, her cup resting in her hands.

“I’m glad that things are going smoothly on Senku’s end. However, there was one thing that I wanted you to be aware of.”

“And that is?”

“There’s a possibility that Hyoga-kun is going to act upon himself to check the village that you saw..” After hearing this, Gen slightly chokes on his tea as he regains his breath, looking at the [ h/c ] haired girl with wide eyes. She looks back at him with a serious expression, placing her teacup on the table before rising from her seat. She shuffles around in her room and stuffs her hand into a box, digging through it. She looks around and slowly brings out a flute like instrument and places it on the table in front of Gen.

“Hyoga-kun and Homura-san has been keeping a close eye on my behavior as of recently and I’ve been noticing it. While you were away, they would often insist they would escort me and follow me around. But even when Hyoga-kun was with me, Homura-san wasn’t that far away either. Their suspicions on me are rather high..”

“So..what does this flute have to deal with anything..?”

“Use this whistle in case you and the others are in trouble. Since I will be on my toes about this, I will keep an eye on Hyoga-kun and Homura-san while they’re at the empire. Will you be alright heading back to the village and keeping tabs on them for me?”

Gen only looks down at the instrument before picking it up between his fingers. He looks at the [ h/c ] haired girl before sending a smirk her way, causing the girl to reply back with her own. Gen gently bows his head towards her direction, folding his hands together into his sleeves.

“It will be an honor, [ f/n ]-dono. Just leave it to me.”

[ f/n ] smiled as she nods her head with approval, taking a swig from her own drink. As soon as [ f/n ] was finished with ‘patching’ him up, they had decided to return back to the empire before it got too dark. As Gen was able to successfully escort [ f/n ] back to her own living space, Gen could hear from the distance a familiar voice. He looks out towards pass the training grounds and sees the familiar white haired male with his pink haired female companion. There was a group of brawly men standing in front of him, evil glints in their eyes as they looked ready for battle.

“We’re going to infiltrate the village Asagiri-kun found on the way back to the Empire. Then, we’re going to see if this _Senku_ kid is actually dead. You guys will follow my lead and _only_ my lead. Got it?”

“Yes sir!”

“Good, we leave the day after tomorrow.”

Gen was pressed against the wall as he remains hidden from view, his fingers gently clenching onto the flute that [ f/n ] had given him. He was breaking into a sweat but Gen had only smirked as he took a minute to calm down his rapid beating heart.

“Oh this is going to be good..”

(if you're interested, I drew my image of what Reader's shack looks like on the inside! Sorry it's not the best but I hope you enjoy it, regardless c: Thanks again for reading! <3)

[Inside Reader's Shack](https://maekankouya.tumblr.com/post/188650360936/i-cant-draw-people-but-im-okay-with-rooms-c)


	11. Chapter 11

Just like how [ f/n ] had predicted, Hyoga was putting together a plan to infiltrate the primitive village. As much as [ f/n ] wanted to keep an eye on him, she was occupied with a few of the towns people that were struggling with little things. Gen wanted to help [ f/n ], however, she just told him to get back to the village as soon as possible. 

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright, [ f/n ]-dono?”

“Ye-Yeah..I’ll be fine. Just go ahead and head back to the village. I need to figure out what’s happening back here first..” 

[ f/n ] huffs as she finishes cleaning the mess in the children’s area. She looks around as the children were quietly taking a nap by the other makeshift pillows, snoring amongst themselves as [ f/n ] sighs while placing her hands on her hips. Gen continues to observe her before he bows his head and leaves the children’s area to venture out on his mission. As she watches her friend leave, she looks over towards the large tree planted by the children's area and inspects the branches from where she stood. The breeze was passing by, the rustling of leaves heard as she squinted for a moment before she lowers her guard. Walking over to the sleeping children, she crouches to gently tuck the blankets closer to their bodies and strokes one of the children’s hair. As the child was easing against her touch, someone approaches the gate to the children’s area and runs up to her.

“[ f-f/n ]-dono, I’m sorry to ask you this so suddenly..but we’re having trouble in the farming areas. I can’t find Tsukasa-dono anywhere so I’ve come to you..”

“Don’t worry, lead the way and explain the situation. I’ll try my best to help as much as I can.”

“Thank you, [ f/n ]-dono!!”

The person smiles as they open the gate for her to leave, the male explaining the situation. As [ f/n ] was intently listening to him, she noticed from the corner of her eye a pink smudge quickly run through the trees. She stopped in her tracks, looking back and quickly looking through the forest for something odd. The male that was guiding her, also stopped in his tracks and looking back at her with a confused look. 

“[ f/n ]-dono? Is something the matter?”

“..no. Sorry, please lead the way.” She turns back to the male and gives him a smile, the person smiling back in return. He starts to lead the way again, [ f/n ] following him as they soon disappeared into the crowd of people. As she was soon out of sight, Homura lets out a relieved sigh as she releases the breath that she didn’t know she was holding. She allows herself to rest against the branch as she continues to watch the crowd of people mind their own day from above.

“My god..I thought I was going to be seen..”

Although Homura was relieved that she had gone unseen, [ f/n ] had checked one more time before rounding the corner and seeing a glimpse of the pink haired girl hiding on the tree top. It was then when [ f/n ]’s theories were right and she smirked with triumph. Then before her cover was blown, she continued with looking at the villager’s concern and had helped them try and fix their destroyed farm. 

It turned out that Homura was stalling [ f/n ] from interfering with Hyoga’s plan to infiltrate the primitive village. Thus, Homura was left at the empire to distract her and keep her away from the village until their plan was complete. However, with the help of Ukyo and Nikki, she was able to escape and head back to her shack to prepare for their intervention. She grabbed her belongings, quickly tucking them into her cloak as she double checked to see if she missed anything. Scanning her room, she nods before putting on her hood and moving to the corner of her room to move the pots aside. As [ f/n ] moves the plank aside, she takes one final glance around her room and tightens her hold on the rope she was holding onto.

“I’m sorry Tsukasa..” She whispers to herself before slipping into the small compartment and fixing the plank of wood from the outside. She then climbs down until her feet is safely planted on the ground and looking up from where she stood. With a huff, she inhaled and tugged on the rope as hard as she could and tore it. Rolling the rope around her arm, she safely tries it against the strap to her quiver and quickly makes her way towards her shack. She was weaving her way through the forest branches, ducking under and jumping over as she allowed her momentum to swing her body as fast as she could. 

But as soon as she could see the familiar building coming into view, she huffed as she starts to slow down her momentum and slows down her running speed. Once she finally comes to a stop, she tries to catch her breath as she falls to her knees and starts to drink water from the river in front of her. Her breathing had started to calm down, [ f/n ] pulling away from the water source to catch her breath with relief. She looks at the back of her shack, still panting before she rises to her feet and walks over the bridge. Poyo had noticed her presence and was greeting her happily, making her smile and stroke its fur.

“I know Poyo, but I need to get something done first. I’ll feed you when I’m done, okay?”

The animal responded to her question, despite not understanding it as well. [ f/n ] still hummed regardless as she enters the shack, looking at her furnace and the pieces of iron that she was able to make. Walking over to it, she pulls out an iron rod and the largest stone she had before laying it on the ground. Then, she grabbed the iron with metal tongs before placing it inside the furnace. After some time, she takes it out and grabs her mallet and starts to hammer down onto the burning metal.

 _‘It’s going to take some serious hard work..but I’m going to need this if I’m going up against Hyoga-kun..’_ [ f/n ] thinks to herself before she got down to business and continues to hammer down the metal. 

[ f/n ] continued to work against the same piece of metal that she was hammering; hit and fold, hit and fold, hit and fold before placing it back into the furnace to heat back up again. This was a repetitive cycle as she was starting to see its shape, her eyes widening as she started to work faster until it finally formed the final shape. After leaving it in the furnace to cook, she quickly shuffled around in her area to find the base and to lay the metal on. As she places the molded iron on top of the base, she started to fix the final touches as she hammered the metal down a few more times.

“Al..most..done..” [ f/n ] heaved as she runs the mallet down one last time before allowing it to drop from her hands. She looks down at the final form of her handiwork and slowly gets up from where she sat. Looking through the labeled bottles, she picks one up and a brush that she had made from her own hair that she had cut a few months ago. Opening the cap and dipping the brush in, she gently takes out the brush and starts to coat the top of the metal with it. 

“Lacquer will work for now until I find a stronger coating for this..”

[ f/n ] continues to coat the metal on both sides before grabbing another flat stone and slowly coating it with water. She spreads the water evenly before grabbing the piece of metal and starting to sharpen one side of it. She brought the metal down from the top right corner, then to the bottom left corner of the flat stone. As she did the other side, she started to sharpen with the same method, just the opposite directions. The sound of metal scraping against the stone was heard from her small area, her eyes slightly twitching as her body was slowly reaching its limit. But after a few more strokes, she looks down at her piece of work and smiles at it with a tired smile. Holding the item up so she can see it better, she wanted to cry then and there as the hard work was starting to pay off.

**_Acquired:_ ** _Katana!_

“Ahh..craftsmanship club and woodshop..you really are a blessing..”

[ f/n ] praises as she looks at the newly weapon she had created. With a relieved sigh, she rises from her spot before looking around and finding something to test the item on. After standing in the middle of her room, she then walks over to her table and picks up a banana and holds it over the katana facing up. With a deep breath, she releases the banana, the fruit immediately splitting into two once it hit the ground. Her eyes widen as she couldn’t help but stare at her katana until she closes her eyes shut and lets out a loud sigh with relief.

“Yes..! Finally! If only Ms. Kanao could see me now! He would’ve definitely given me an A after seeing this!”

[ f/n ] huffs in triumph as she continues to inspect her weapon before placing it inside the case she had made with it. [ f/n ]’s smile then slowly falls into a neutral expression, as she sets the katana down on the coffee table and allows herself to sit on the bamboo sofa. Once she allowed her body to relax, she could feel all kinds of soreness course through her body as she immediately turns to lay on her back - groaning with pain. As she reaches over for her coat, she covers herself with it as she turns away and letting her eyes closed shut.

“I think I’ll just let my body rest for a minute..I’ve been working..for..a while..” [ f/n ] yawned as she could hear the crickets from the outside, soon singing her to sleep. As the [ h/c ] haired maiden had finally fallen asleep after her hard work, the sound of people chatter is heard in the far distance as they were gathered together in some sort of celebration. But the celebration was cut short when one of the village’s guards had sensed a strong feeling of discomfort in the air, immediately putting his guard up. Gen watched from the sidelines as chaos started to ensue, looking from left and right as the women had started to gather the children to a safe space, the men looking for weapons to equip themselves. Gen observed as Senku was starting to stuff gunpowder into a tube before lighting the end on fire, quickly looking over to Magma and handing him a rock. 

“Magma-chan, throw this rock towards the enemy.”

“Bu-But it’s not going to reach!”

“That’s fine! We’re just going to need a little scare is all..” Gen smirks as Magma looks at him with an odd expression before following his order and scaring the other team for a second. Gen quickly raises the gunpowder filled tube, allowing the smoke to fill the air as Senku was struggling on what Gen was trying to do.

“Hy-Hyoga-chan! Stay away! This village has achieved on making firearms!”

Hyoga finally rises from his hidden state, his gaze looking out towards the male that was sending him a ‘warning’. As the smoke was starting to clear, Hyoga could visibly see another white haired male, his signature smirk plastered on his lips as he waves the black smoke away.

“Oh..you must be the infamous Senku that I’ve been hearing about..”

“I have no idea where you heard about me but take that first shot as a warning.”

Senku starts to play along as he points the tube towards Hyoga and his minions on the other side of the bridge, the men standing behind Hyoga slightly flinching before taking a cautious step back. “Report back to Tsukasa for me and tell him that: Ishigami Senku is alive!”

Hyoga couldn’t help but grin mischievously as he looks at the crowd forming behind him, ready to strike at any moment. As Hyoga looks towards the sky, he looks back at Senku’s army before taking a step back and retreating for the time being. As they all started to cheer after their retreating figure, Gen started to run after them and doing his best to look convincingly scared. Senku watched Gen run off, his eyes following him before Ginro, Kohaku and Chrome started to help Kinro up from the bridge. Looking down at his wound, they took Kinro back to Chrome’s hut to clean up and heal his wounds. 

Hyoga and his men stood nearby, hidden in the forest as they were huddled around each other. His minions were then discussing something amongst themselves before turning towards their white haired leader with an upset expression.

“We could’ve handled it back there, Hyoga! There’s not a lot of them!”

“You wouldn’t want to take the risk of being _shot_ do you?”

Hearing those words, the minion who spoke flinched on the spot before all of the others had looked away to prevent on getting scolded. However, the minions that had just spoken, only points an accusing finger against him and starts to bash on him.

“They have guns but we have you! You and that weird spear with a bamboo sleeve on it!”

“Huh..the bamboo does make it kind of look odd.”

“Touch my weapon and you’re going to regret it, Gen.”

“M-My apologies!!”

Gen looks at the people who he was standing by, giving a glance towards the white haired male leaning against the tree. They were starting to plan on when their attack move is, discussing amongst themselves. Gen then slowly pulls out the flute that he was given, looking down at the instrument before blowing into it. Once they heard a pleasant sound in the air, they all turned to the male who was playing the flute to himself as he turned to look back at them.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind that I play with a toy that was gifted to me by those children.”

“..it’s fine. Anyways, just like what I was saying: we just need to wait until there’s a storm so the plan we had can successfully take action.” All of the minions were nodding as Gen’s music was playing in the background, his gaze wandering off towards the open area of the forest. As a breeze was passing through the forest, the familiar sound of the flute was traveling through the wind until it had landed in a familiar area where there laid a green shack. As the music continued to pass through, the person who lied inside had opened their eyes from the sound. Now fully rested, they rise from where they were and started to prepare for a battle.  
  


**_~~~~~~_ **   
  


[ f/n ] pulled to the side, looking up at the sky as the wind was starting to pick up. The sky was starting to turn grey and the clouds were also starting to move in as well. 

“A storm..? Maybe leaving now would be a bad idea..”

She mumbled to herself as she turned away from her window and pick up her katana. But as soon as she picked it up, another string of notes from a musical instrument was heard from the distance. She inhaled sharply before clenching the weapon in her hand and placed it on her hip. 

“No..this is something that they’ve been waiting for.”

[ f/n ] grabs her newly stitched coat, placing it over her shoulders and putting up the hood over her head. She then goes over to her wall and grabs her quiver and bow, looking at the new mask she was able to make. Looking at the fox mask, she carefully placing it over her face before adjusting her hood and leaving her small home. She closes her eyes as she listens for the flute again, hearing it faintly before quickly leaving towards the village. As she was zooming through the trees, she looks from left and right in case she were to run into somebody familiar. She takes a moment to stop where she was, looking from the top of the tree and looking out at the open water that was in front of her. She catches her breath, looking in all directions before she squints and sees a pink smudge out in the ocean and swimming towards the shore of the island. She huffed as she tightens her strap on her mask before making her way down the tree and heading towards the opposite side of the island. She takes a glimpse down at the open sea before taking a few steps back and giving herself a running start. 

Taking the leap, she dives into the water before swimming towards the island. After about 10 minutes, [ f/n ] was panting as her hand touched the mountain, allowing herself to catch her breath. She looked around, seeing the villagers taking shelter as the others were fighting to her left. She couldn’t help herself but glare at Hyoga as he was starting to approach them with his spear. [ f/n ] had to look away as her main focus was Homura, doing her best to get around the mountain to find her way up. After observing her climb up the ramp towards the village, she slowly follows her movements while keeping a close eye on where she was going. After taking refuge behind a hut, she takes out a plank of wood and a bow shaped item before starting to twist the stick against the plank. 

[ f/n ] took this chance and stood behind another hut, taking her bow and aiming an arrow towards the device. She watched it as it started to smoke, little sparks starting to be seen. But before the fire could be lit, [ f/n ] releases the arrow and knocks the device away from her. Homura gasps as she looks over to the suspect, her eyes glaring at her as she lowered her bow down. 

“You don’t seem to be one of the villagers that Hyoga-sama spoke about..”

“You’ll find out, soon enough.”

Homura takes out a sword from her bag, holding it out in front of her as [ f/n ] had done the same while unsheathing her katana. Homura visibly flinched as she tightly held onto her weapon before charging towards her. She blocks her first attack, watching her reel back her sword to strike again. But as she covered it, she brought back her leg to try and kick her side but [ f/n ] had pulled and flipped back. Homura tried to move but [ f/n ] was on her tail, trying her best to strike the other weapon on her other hand. The villagers had noticed the battle going on between the two strangers, screaming in fear as they did their best to take cover. Homura was about to strike again, but was caught when someone had tripped her and gave [ f/n ] the advantage. Sheathing her sword, she grabs the rope from her coat and does her best to tie her down. After successfully tying her wrists and ankles together, [ f/n ] huffed as she looked at the person who helped her, a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes in a blue dress. She was watching her, two people guarding her as they were about to take their weapons out as well. [ f/n ] immediately bowed her head, causing her two guards to take a step back from shock. 

“Please hurry and take the children somewhere safe. I will take care of the enemy at hand.”

“Why would we listen to a stranger--!”

“Right, I’ll have that done as soon as possible.”

“But..Ruri-sama..”

[ f/n ] bows her head again as she takes a hold of Homura’s collar and starts to drag her towards the enemy. Her steps were quiet but as soon as she came into view, all activity was dulled down. Hyoga looked at the mysterious figure holding Homura as she struggled in place, [ f/n ] placing her foot down on her back as she was squirming on the ground.

“I see..not only did you mess with my weapon, Gen. But you had called reinforcements.”

“Se-Sensei!”

“What the heck!? Wh-Who is this person..??”

As she looks at the tall white haired male, she looks down at Homura before releasing her foot and untying the rope. Everyone screams with confusion as they watched her rub her wrists before returning back to Hyoga’s side with a bit of sweat on her forehead.

“Why would you do that!?”

“You had her!!”

However, [ f/n ] doesn’t listen as she looks back and takes a step towards towards Kohaku. She looks at her with a confused look as the others around her had brought their guard up. She points at the sword she was holding and soon turning her hand for her palm to face up.

“I’m sorry, Kohaku but may I borrow this, please?”

“Of course, Sensei..”

“Ko-Kohaku!!”

The blonde girl hands her the weapon, a man what [ f/n ] assumed is her father, yelling at her once [ f/n ] took it. As she turns back around to face Hyoga, she places the weapon on the ground as she faces his men. They were confused as continues to look at them before speaking.

“If you wish to challenge me, now is your chance. If you win, you can take the village and their people. If you lose, however, you must leave this village and property _alone_.”

“!!?!”

The people behind her had gaped at the offer, Hyoga’s men smirking as they all had their confidence brought back. Gen slightly sweats as Senku looks at the hooded figure with confusion and shock. 

“Oi, Senku! You can’t just let this person put us on the line here!”

“Yeah!! You’re the chief leader, stop this person!!” Senku remains silent as he was thinking of the possibilities of knowing who this person was. An odd feeling of trust was swelling his heart and he knew that this person wasn’t going to give the village away. He looks over at Kohaku as she had a bead of sweat roll down her temple, obviously nervous of the circumstances but she was confident of this person. One of Hyoga’s men takes a step forward, smirking as he takes the katana from the ground. As soon as he picked up the sword, [ f/n ] stands still as she watches her opponent point the sword towards her direction.

“I doubt a puny woman like you could even beat someone like--!”

Before he could continue, she ran forward and caught him off guard by punching his stomach. He heaves forward, kicking the sword away from his grip and sending a kick back towards the man and sending him backwards. Everybody blinked in shock as she composed herself back again, picking up the fallen sword and placing it back to its original spot. Hyoga’s men start to glare at her, almost ready to attack her but Hyoga takes a step forward, causing the others to pull back and smirk with triumph. He looks down at the sword before picking it up and inspecting it, soon holding it out in front of him. 

“Sensei..”

Kohaku whispers as she looks down at Suika, who also returns her gaze. She was slightly shaking in fear as she leans closer to the blonde girl, Kohaku responding as she places a hand on her head. [ f/n ] opens her coat and unsheathes her katana, the others shocked once they see her holding a similar weapon. As they faced each other, Hyoga chuckles as he digs his feet into the ground.

“I will be looking forward to this sparing, _Sensei._ ”

[ f/n ] grunts as she tightens her grip on her katana as she waits for the right moment to react. The two stared at each other, their movements still as they both inhaled. As soon as they exhaled, both Hyoga and [ f/n ] almost move at the speed of light as they were about to strike their swords together. Before both parties could process how fast they moved, they were now on opposite sides, their backs facing each other as they both stood still again. 

**_Crack!_ **

A small sound was heard within the still air as Hyoga looks down at his katana, watching it starting to crumble before the blade was completely cut in half. Hyoga’s men start to shiver as they watch [ f/n ] return her sword back into her sheath. But as she still had her back facing him, she didn’t realize that he was reeling his arm back and about to throw the broken weapon towards her.

“Sensei!”

[ f/n ] quickly looks back and dodges the item, looking to see where Hyoga had gone. But as he was about to strike her from behind, she plants her palm on the ground and kicks his chin and sends him back with his men. Hyoga grunts painfully as he looks up from where he was, [ f/n ] looking down at him as she stood tall.

“You have lost the match. The deal is made so you all need to leave.”

“Im-Impressive..as expected of Tsukasa-kun’s right hand..”

“Tsukasa’s..right hand..?” Chrome questions quietly as the others look at the mysterious figure in front of them. Senku’s gaze was piercing as he couldn’t keep his gaze off of them, his right hand slightly clenching the fabric of his shirt. [ f/n ] takes a step forward, revealing her sword again as she places her hand on the hilt.

“Report back to Tsukasa that if he wants to take this village, he’s going to have to get through me and the kingdom of science. And make sure you don’t miss any details.”

She threatens as she removes her hood and starts to untie the rope from her mask. She pulls it away from her face as she stares down at them, his men immediately flinching and bowing their heads. Hyoga looks at her before he stands to his feet and calls back his men before they all started to retreat. It was silent as the breeze was passing by, the wind pushing her [ h/c ] colored hair to the side. The villagers had started to cheer from their victory, Senku taking a step foward from the group and slightly catching their attention from his weird behavior. 

“Senku?”

Senku continues to walk until he was a few meters away from the person, her back still facing him. Gen only smiles before he bows his head slightly when she turns around, looking up at her childhood friend with a smile. Her hair was flowing with the wind, causing his gaze to soften as his hand clenches his shirt even tighter.

“Hi Senku. Long time no see.”


	12. Chapter 12

Senku gazed down at her as he had his hand tightly clenching his shirt. [ f/n ] looked at him and shyly broke eye contact, looking back again to see if there would be a reaction. But as soon as she looked back, he was reaching forward and [ f/n ] quickly stood still from her place. As his fingers gently brushed her pink cheeks…..he immediately pinches them and starts to stretch her cheek outward. [ f/n ] yelped as she started to whine, squirming from where she stood as everyone behind Senku gasped at the interaction in shock. 

“How could you do something like that, hah?? Are you some kind of rebel now??”

“I-I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! OW—DON’T TUG SO HARD!!”

“YOU CAN’T JUST SHOW UP OUT OF NOWHERE LIKE SOME SUPER HERO!!”

“BUT I SAVED THE VILLAGE, DIDN’T I!?”

“U-Umm..Senku-chan..[ f/n ]-dono..I think you might be scaring the villagers a little..”

Gen then interferes, catching his and her attention. Senku stops pinching [ f/n ]’s cheeks as they both turn towards the villagers who was more than just confused from the interaction. [ f/n ] only laughs nervously as she takes a step forward and around Senku, bowing her head towards the group of people.

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. My name is [ f/n ], I’m a friend of Senku’s. It’s a pleasure finally meeting all of you.”

[ f/n ] soon rose her head, giving the group a friendly smile. All of the men gasps as they clench their chests, obviously taken aback from the formality and beauty. Senku huffed as he crosses his arms over his chest and looks away with a pout, causing Gen to stifle his laughter. Suika does her best to make her way through the crowd, finally slipping free. She smiles as she ran over to her, wrapping her arms around her legs. [ f/n ] laughs as she gently pets Suika’s head, Kohaku taking a step forward and also acknowledging her presence. Chrome then shakes his head out from spacing out, taking a step and pointing an accusing finger towards the [ h/c ] haired girl. 

“Wait, wait! Kohaku! You know this person?!”

“Yes, she helped me while I was traveling to get the spring water for Ruri-nee. She also gifted me a brand new pot when the one I had was about to break.”

“Sensei also saved me from a mean wolf!” Suika chimes as she continues to hug her. [ f/n ] couldn’t help but blush from embarrassment as she started to scratch her cheek out of habit. Senku looks at her as he looks towards Gen’s direction, the male catching his gaze.

“Oh, you’re probably wondering where I play in this? Well you see, I was [ f/n ]-dono’s second pair of eyes once I encountered your little village, Senku-chan.”

Senku huffed once more before he rubs the back of his neck and averts his gaze back to [ f/n ] who was speaking to Kohaku. Kinro takes a step forward, adjusting his glasses as he clenches his grip on his katana. 

“Regardless that you’re Senku’s friend, strangers aren’t allowed to enter the village. Because rules are rules.”

“She’ll be an exception.” All eyes were on the new voice that had entered the conversation, the familiar blue haired maiden as she makes herself present. [ f/n ]’s posture straightens as they make way for her, the woman walking up towards her with small steps. She greets her with a smile and bows her head, [ f/n ] returning the gesture. 

“I want to thank you for saving the residential area and preventing that woman wreak havoc.”

“It was something that needed to be done while the others were taking care of Hyoga-kun and his posse.” [ f/n ] smiled as the woman reaches out and holds her hands. The girl blinks as she shakes her hands, the woman soon replying with a greeting.

“My name is Ruri and I’m the priestess of this village. I would love to give you a formal thank you for saving the people.”

“We-Well, you should also include Senku and the others since I just so happened to show up out of nowhere..”

“That’s it! We’re going to have a feast and celebrate our victory!”

The older man with the beard mentions as he raises his fist into the air. Everyone starts to cheer as they started to make their way back towards the village, Ruri taking [ f/n ]’s hands and starting to guide her. [ f/n ] was shocked and looked back to make eye contact with Senku, who only shrugged in response. [ f/n ] pouts and almost trips but catches herself once she looks forward again. Senku watches from the back of the group, Gen joining his side as he folded his hands into his sleeves.

“Well village chief, aren’t you going to join the celebration?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a sec.” Senku replies as he places his hands on his hips. He then turns around and starts heading towards Chrome’s hut, opening and closing the door behind him. Gen watches him leave before letting out a sigh and following where everyone was gathered. 

Night had fallen and the air was filled with joyous laughter and cheers from the villagers. [ f/n ] was quick to befriend a lot of people, being introduced by Kohaku and Suika. She was nervous at first, but they seemed to welcome her regardless. She even formally introduced herself towards Kohaku and Ruri’s father (again) to put herself in a good position. However, the man only returned the gesture with a bow as well and causing her to frantically waving her hands to raise his head. Jasper and Turquoise (who she found out their names later) had also apologized for their behavior when she was actually helping them prevent any further destruction. [ f/n ] continued to accept their apology but countlessly told them to raise their heads. After a meal, [ f/n ] sighs as she looks around the crowd for a familiar face but was only met with disappointment. She stands from where she stood, catching Kohaku, Suika and Chrome’s attention.

“Where are you going, Sensei?”

“I’m just going to find Senku real quick, maybe he’s going to be hungry so I’m just going to bring him something.” [ f/n ] smiles as she walks away from the circle and towards the small hut. She was walking on the bridge, the trio continued to watch her leave as the cloak she wore was swaying from the breeze passing by.

“Do you really think she’s Senku’s friend? I mean..the way he was treating her after the fight was kind of..rough.”

“I have heard a story that [ f/n ]-dono has known Senku-chan since they were very young. They were probably the same age as Suika when they first met.”

Both Kohaku and Chrome look at Suika munching on a kabob as she looks up at them with confusion. They both blinked as they looked at each other, a few things linking together. 

_[ f/n ] + Senku + Young age = Childhood Friends_

_‘When we were younger, she would always try to mess with my things and just stay at my house for a ridiculously long time.'_

“THEY’RE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS!!” They both exclaimed at the same time as they dropped what they were doing and hurriedly chased after the [ h/c ] haired girl. As [ f/n ] was crossing the second bridge, Ginro took notice of her presence and turned around to watch her crossing. He made eye contact with her and meekly bowed his head towards her direction, his cheeks flustered. [ f/n ] responds with her own bow as she walks past him, approaching the end of the bridge. She looks towards the small hut before turning to look at Kinro, the man doing his best to stifle a yawn. 

“Excuse me, but do you know which direction Senku went?” Kinro looked at her as he was about to respond but Ginro beats him to it, quickly stepping to stand right by his side and looking at her with a gleam in his eyes.

“H-He went up that path! Do you need an escort? I can escort you!”

“I’ll be fine, thank you. You two should stay here and guard the village, a strong duo like you need to protect the children right?”

[ f/n ] complimented as she started to walk past them, the two brothers looking at her with a shocked expression. They couldn’t help but blush and glimmer with pride, not able to hold in their smiles as they stood by their posts. Not a few minutes has passed until Chrome and Kohaku pass them, giving them a confused look at their weird facial expressions.

“What got you dudes so up tight?”

“Th-Th-The pretty lady..called us strong..” Ginro said dreamily as he was leaning against the bridge for support. They both looked at Kinro as he was also trying his best to keep himself composed but if it wasn’t for the bridge’s post then he would’ve fallen over. Chrome and Kohaku shrug their shoulders as they continued to follow up the path on where [ f/n ] went, the [ h/c ] haired girl walking up the dirt path. 

She holds the plate close, looking down at the food before looking past all of the branches and finding an opening. After pushing the branches away she finds herself looking upon a large tree, a perfect spot on where you can gaze upon the stars. As she looks further, she notices the familiar white haired male sitting against the tree and gazing up at the stars. [ f/n ] couldn’t help herself but smile as she finally started moving forwards towards his direction.

“You aren’t going to eat?”

Senku looks back, [ f/n ] slowing her stops as she takes a seat beside him and placing the plate of food beside him. Senku doesn’t say a word as he continues to gaze at her, her [ e/c ] eyes meeting his before breaking eye contact several times. She was fiddling with her thumbs under her cloak, Senku already noticing her uneasiness. He continues to watch her squirm in her spot nervously, her cheeks starting to turn pink from embarrassment. 

“Hey..say something..”

“..are you real?”

“Eh!? That’s what you say after this many years we haven’t seen each other?!” [ f/n ] gaps and almost practically screams, causing Senku to cover his ears. But as Senku peers over and watches her pout from her spot, he couldn’t hold in his laughter and starts to laugh. [ f/n ] heard this and pouts even further as she whines and reaches over to hit his arm over and over.

“Don’t play games like that!! I’m serious!”

“Sorry, sorry! I couldn’t help it.”

As she was hitting his arm, it slowly comes to a stop. Senku caught this and looks over at her, watching her shoulders shake and causing panic to course through his body. He finally turns her way, catching her wrist and gently pushing it towards the side so he could try and get a look at her. But [ f/n ]’s head was facing downwards, the glimmer of tears falling more frequently as she finally took the initiative and look up from the ground. Senku’s eyes widened as her [ e/c ] colored eyes glistened under the moonlight, her built up tears also shining even when they were running down her cheeks. 

“Senku..I’m so glad that you’re okay..” [ f/n ] croaked with a broken voice. Senku could feel his breath hitch as he reaches out, wrapping his arms around her shaking body as she clenched the fabric of his shirt. As he hears her let out a muffled sob, his arms instinctively tighten as he lays his hand on top of her head and allowing his fingers to weave with her hair.

“I saw you die..Tsukasa..he..”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to finish that sentence. I know..”

She buries herself further into his chest, her hands slowly unclenching his shirt from her grasp. He doesn’t speak anymore as he continues to hold her, not realizing a relieved sigh escaped his lips as he rests his forehead on her shoulder. [ f/n ] slowly blinks as she does her best to take a look at him, feeling his arms squeeze her frame against his as her cloak started to feel a bit damp.

“I thought I lost you..for once, I’m grateful that Tsukasa found you and revived you..”

“Senku..” He did his best to cover his true emotions with a laugh, [ f/n ] reaching up and placing her hand on the back of his head. She starts to stroke his hair, her shoulder becoming more damp as he leans his weight forward and catching her off guard when they had lost balance. Senku was still hugging her but laid his body on top, her arms resting on his back as she was rubbing his back in a pacifying motion. She tried to move her body but to no avail, she couldn’t budge with Senku’s weight on top of her. She grunts as Senku tightens his hold on her, making [ f/n ] huff. 

“Senku, let’s sit up so we can talk properly.”

“No.”

“Ugh, you’re so stubborn! Ju-Just let me! Sit up!” [ f/n ] tried to heave herself into a sitting position but she made no progress throughout that whole charade. The [ h/c ] haired girl looked at the person on top of her, his face still buried within her shoulder as his arms were still wrapped around her. She starts to think before an idea pops into her head, quickly glancing towards Senku’s direction.

“If you let me sit up, I’ll let you know where I found an Euphorbiaceae plant.”

As soon as he heard the familiar plant, he sits up from where he was and watched [ f/n ] sit up on her own. She looks at Senku as she was adjusting her cloak, preventing a full laugh leaving her as she covers her mouth completely. Senku was confused before he asks what’s wrong, [ f/n ] taking some time to compose herself.

“So-Sorry, you just looked like an eager puppy waiting for a ball or something.”

“Wha--!”

Hearing his reaction, [ f/n ] lets out a laugh as she covers her mouth throughout it. Senku was about to counter with something in return but after hearing her laughter after so long, his heart started to skip a beat once more from the sight. Senku huffed as he sits back to lean against the tree, looking at her as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Besides the point, are you going to tell me what happened on your end then?”

[ f/n ]’s laugh finally tones down as she looks at him, his gaze patiently waiting for her to continue the serious talk. As they stared at each other for a few minutes, she looks away before rising to her feet. He looks at her with a confused expression before she steps closer and takes a seat in front of him, sitting in between his legs. Senku blinks as he reacts with a shocked expression, [ f/n ]’s ears immediately turning red as she refuses to turn towards his direction. 

“I-If I’m going to talk about wh-what happened..I might as well get comfortable, ri-right..?” She reasons, a few stumbles here and there but she was able to get what she wanted out. Senku continues to look at her before he smirks, bringing his legs up and wrapping his arms around her body as he docks his chin on her shoulder again.

“Alright..I’m listening.”

She slightly peers over her shoulder as Senku makes himself comfortable, a shy smile forming on [ f/n ]’s lips as she looks down at her hands. Then, as the night progressed, [ f/n ] started to tell her journey of survival once she woke up in this stone world.

As the two friends were catching up with each other, Kohaku and Chrome stood by in the bushes with tearful expressions. Kohaku looked like she was about to burst into tears and Chrome was almost baffled. 

“Ah, that’s so romantic!!”

“Senku..acting all soft..? Impossible..” Chrome mumbles as he was trying to process what he had just witnessed. Kohaku quietly stands from her spot and looks over at Chrome, gently waving her hands forward. 

“We should leave them be, Chrome. They’re probably going to need some time to catch up.”

“Ehh?? But what if they start talking about scientific things??”

“You can ask Sensei tomorrow! Right now, leaving them to catch up is the right thing to do.”

Chrome whines as he finally obliges, standing from his spot and starting to head back to the village. As Kohaku was about to follow him, she takes one last glance behind her shoulder as she watches [ f/n ] laugh at something Senku had said. She couldn’t help but smile herself, facing forward and leaving the two be for the night. 

~~~~~~

As the new day followed, there was already bustling activity going on in Chrome’s hut. After [ f/n ] and Senku caught up with each other, Senku brought her back to show the different materials that Chrome had collected through the years. [ f/n ] blinked as she looked at the shelf of different minerals, her eyes glimmering as she covers her mouth in shock.

“Oh my gosh it’s beautiful..”

“I can see that you’re fascinated by my amazing COLLECTION!!”

“You’ve been collecting all of these minerals for years? You even have medicinal herbs!!” [ f/n ] gasped as she scoots her way over to the shelf of different types of herbs, looking into each clay pot and feeling the texture of the leaves. Kohaku slightly sweats from the outside of the hut, crossing her arms in confusion.

“Sensei is just like Senku when he first saw this..i-it’s just a bunch of leaves though..”

“They may just be a bunch of leaves, but each leaf has a different type of health benefit to it.”

[ f/n ] gently picks up a Yarrow flower, inspecting it before looking around the room. Once she finds her subject, she smiles as she holds onto the flower and climbs out of the hut to run over to her subject. All eyes were on her as they followed her, curious to what she was up to. 

“Excuse me! Guard-san! Could I borrow you for a second?”

“Eh?? Me?? Why—EHH KINRO??”

The brown haired male looks at her with a confused look as she gives him a smile before taking a hold of his wrist and dragging him back towards Chrome’s hut. The male was baffled as he was ushered to climb up, [ f/n ] following in suit. She strips from her cloak, revealing the same dress she wore when Kohaku found her in the forest. She lays her cloak down on the floor and pats the surface while looking at Kinro. 

“If you could please lay down, Guard-san.”

“Er—okay..”

“Senku, do you have a mortar and pestle?”

“It’s in the corner next to the copper and silver.” [ f/n ] thanks him as she quickly looks over and grabs the devices, placing it in front of her. She takes out the Yarrow flower again and plucks the contents before placing them into the bowl. 

“Guard-san, I never caught your name. Could you tell me? I’m [ f/n ].”

“Ki-Kinro.”

“Kinro..it’s nice to meet you. Your swordsmanship was amazing during yesterday’s fight, have you used a katana before?” Kinro shakes his head as he continues to hold a conversation with the [ h/c ] haired girl as she was crushing the flower in the bowl. The others observed from the outside, amazed at the communication and how gentle she spoke with him. 

“Wow..Sensei, truly is amazing. She’s so calm when she speaks. Hey Senku, how does she know all of those leaves over there? Do they really have that kind of ability?”

“Yes they do. Medicine is also science, however, despite knowing what makes what; it’s the science that can either help or kill a person.”

“He-Help or kill..” Ginro mumbles nervously as he shakes while holding his spear. They all gazed at Senku as he kept his gaze towards [ f/n ] who was speaking with Kinro, smiling throughout the conversation. 

“[ f/n ] wanted to be a doctor, just like her parents. Despite enjoying reading different kinds of books, she would always read medicinal books that helped with her knowledge on healing the human body.”

Senku explains as she continues to mix the Yarrow flower mixture with a little bit of warm water. She mixes the paste together as she looks down at Kinro who was observing her actions. She gently tugs on his shirt, still giving him a smile.

“Could you remove your shirt for me, please?”

“Eh?”

“EEHH!??”

“Oh get your heads out of the gutters, I just want to fix your wound.” [ f/n ] comments, slowly cooling down everyone’s embarrassment. Senku only face palms as Gen tries his best to stifle his laughter. Kinro was still blushing as he complies, removing his shirt and revealing the bandaged area. She looks down at the patch before removing the bandage and furrowing her brows together at the dried blood on the gash. She quickly turns her gaze towards the white haired male behind her, causing him to slightly flinch from the sudden glare.

“You just threw a sulfa drug on his wound, didn’t you.”

“I made him consume an acetanilide so it was fine!”

“Doesn’t mean it’s going to be effective and use its full potential!” [ f/n ] scolds as she looks down at Kinro who was looking between the two with confusion. She sighs before grabbing a cloth and soaking it with water. She starts to gently clean the wound before grabbing a clean cloth and dipping the cloth in the Yarrow mixture. She looks at Kinro as she hovers the cloth over his wound, giving him a small smile before starting.

“I’m going to rub this substance on your wound, okay Kinro? If it hurts you, let me know and I will stop.” Kinro nods as he lets his head rest against the floor, [ f/n ] looking down at the wound before pressing the cloth against it. She looks at him for a reaction, watching him sigh as she continues to cover the wound with the paste. She coats the cloth with the last of the paste and grabs a new cloth, placing it on top and wrapping it around his torso. Once she ties the cloth, she sits back and helps Kinro sit up as Ginro takes a closer look at his older brother. 

“How do you feel, Kinro?”

“I feel..refreshed. Almost good as new.”

Everyone gaped as Kinro left Chrome’s hut, stretching in an open area before looking at himself. [ f/n ] smiles as she grabs her cloak, holding it within her arms as she takes a look at Kinro continuing to stretch. 

“Make sure to not overwork yourself! We’ll check your wound later tonight if the medicine worked.”

“Thank you [ f/n ], I really appreciate the help.” Kinro says as he bows his head slightly, giving her a small smile. Ginro slowly comes up to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders and poking his cheek. The brown haired man starts to become a bit embarrassed on what his little brother mentioned before he hits his head and returns back to his post. [ f/n ] reaches to grab her cloak, folding it and hugging it against her chest. 

“Sensei, how did you know to use that white flower for Kinro’s wounds?”

“Well..I’ve used that same flower to treat other people’s wounds back at the empire. It was a common ingredient I collected since it grew by my little shack.”

“You have a base!?”

“Yes I do, would you like to go check it out?” [ f/n ] asks as the group’s eyes widened with excitement. They all agreed as they nodded their head in unison, Suika jumping from her spot as she goes over to stand by [ f/n ]’s side. The girl smiles as she looks over at Senku, who was climbing down the hut, and joining the group as he sends a smirk her way. 

“Lead the way, Sensei.”

Sending him a smirk of her own, she then takes the lead towards her secret base. Suika and Kohaku were happily holding a conversation with the [ h/c ] haired girl nodding along and smiling throughout it. Senku observes from behind the group, Gen looking back and slowing his footsteps to walk beside the white haired genius. Senku sends him a side glance before looking forward again, still walking with the group. 

“You seem to have something on your mind there, Senku-chan. What’s stirring up in that head of yours?”

Senku doesn’t give a response right away, looking down at his feet for a moment before looking straight ahead again. They were starting to pass by a river, the sound of a waterfall heard in the distance. 

“Hyoga mentioned that [ f/n ] was Tsukasa’s right hand man, what does that mean?”

“Ara, ara~ Even the great Senku-chan is curious about that type of thing?” Senku slightly glares at the man beside him but Gen only laughs at the natural reaction. Senku starts to mentally pout as he looks away from his direction, looking at the scenery around them. Gen waits for a moment until he faces forward, noticing the familiar building coming into view. As the women could start to see the building, [ f/n ] takes a few steps forward and looks over her shoulder with a smile on her face. 

“Don’t freak out too much or else you’ll scare my friend over there.”

Once the group had finally passed through the forest, they all gasped at the building in front of them. The building wasn’t too big or too small, definitely the right size for one person. There was an animal fenced off on the right, noticing [ f/n ] approach it and responding happily when she reached out to pet it. The group slowly approached the area, looking around at the small field laid out in front of the entrance from her shack. Suika jumped forward and approached the sheep, reaching out to pet it as well. 

“You have a farm?”

“It’s not much but it was enough for me at least.” [ f/n ] answers Gen as he takes a step forward to gaze at the farm as well. Senku looks at her progress, feeling a bit of pride swell in his chest as he looks over to the [ h/c ] haired girl who was talking with Chrome and Gen. He couldn’t stop himself but giving her a soft gaze, a small smile forming on his lips as he watches her pull the animal hide away and allowed them entry.

“Well, let’s head on inside! You can take a look around while I get some tea ready.”

“‘ _Tea_ ’?” Kohaku, Chrome, Kaseki and Suika tilts their head as they looked at [ f/n ] in confusion. [ f/n ] only smiles as she ushers them inside, the group following her direction. As soon as they entered the building, they all gaped at the spacious room and even the small little inventions on the far left. Suika goes over to the bamboo furniture, sitting on top of it before Kohaku follows suit and sits beside her. Chrome looks over the many bottles of different ingredients she has, Kaseki preoccupied with the furnace and admiring the weaponry that she had made as well. Gen sighed contently as he takes a seat on the other chair, relaxing as he leans into it. As they were preoccupied with their own amusement, Senku takes a step and looks over towards her desk and looking through the papers laid out. But despite searching through all of the papers, everyone’s senses went from 1 to 100 in a quick second once you pulled out a fresh loaf of bread. All eyes were turned to look at the [ h/c ] haired girl who turned around and was immediately startled from the amount of eyes on her. 

“Oh my..I’m sorry for making you all wait too long..”

[ f/n ] laughs as she places the plate on the table, everyone taking a turn to grab a slice for their own. As they all turned to each other to watch the other eat, all eyes were on Chrome when he sniffed the piece. Returning their gaze, he shakes his head before closing his eyes and taking a huge bite from his piece. But as soon as the bread even touched his taste buds, his eyes started to tear up and his cheeks immediately flush. 

_“DELICIOUS!!!!”_

Kohaku, Kaseki and Suika looked at their bread and started eating, also crying with joy from the amazing taste. [ f/n ] laughed at their reaction as she leaned against her desk, standing beside Senku for a moment before giving them cups filled with tea. Gen was also eating his pieces of bread from the chair, small tears forming in his eyes as he chewed.

“It could just be me but your cooking is amazing, [ f/n ]-dono..”

“She’s an amazing cook. Thanks for letting us know.” Senku replied to his statement as he continued eating his bread, causing [ f/n ] to cough and blush with embarrassment. Senku caught this and smirked, tossing the rest of the piece into his mouth and washing it out with the tea that was provided. As they finished the loaf of bread (and a few other more loaves) it all came down to a team meeting, Senku standing tall as he crosses his arms over his chest. Kohaku and Suika were leaning on each other as the little girl yawned, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she stretched from her seat. [ f/n ] smiled as she starts to gather the dishes, Senku slightly frowning at the display of his team starting to display tiredness. 

“Oh come on, are you guys planning on sleeping now?”

“Let them rest, I’m sure they’re only feeling tired because their stomach’s full.”

“Are you confessing to your crimes, [ f/n ]? Did you secretly put MSG into the loaves of bread?”

“Hah! As if you could find that in this stone world.” [ f/n ] laughs as she hugs the dishes to her chest and walks out of the shack. Senku looks at his team, watching them slowly fading into slumber as he followed the [ h/c ] haired girl, watching her was she dishes in the river beside the building. Looking over her shoulder for a moment, she gives him a small smile before finishing up her chore and taking all of the clean cups and plates together again. She places the items down on a table nearby, looking back at the white haired male as he looks up at the setting sun. [ f/n ] joins him, her hands folded behind her back as she also faces the scenery. 

The breeze was passing by, her [ h/c ] colored hair weaving with the wind as [ f/n ] allowed a smile on her face before starting a conversation. “This scene kind of seems familiar, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm..back in the science building..? Witnessing the confession between Taiju and Yuzuriha..?”

[ f/n ] hums in agreement as she looks down at her feet, the smile still placed on her lips. Senku’s gaze took a chance to steal a glance towards her way, feeling his own cheeks blossom with heat as he turns away before he got caught. Taking another glance towards the setting sun, [ f/n ] gently glides the top of her foot across the dirt as she gently tilts her head to the side. 

“You know..before we got petrified, you were in the middle of saying something..what were you..trying to say..?”

“Hm, was I trying to say something..? I don’t remember..”

At the sound of his response, [ f/n ] gasps as she looks at him with a playfully hurt expression. Senku laughs at the expression before heaving a huff with victory, a smirk plastered on his lips. But despite the playful banter, the silence was comfortable with no tension or strain. They both look out towards the setting sun again, their hands almost tickling each other from the proximity. 

“Hey Senku..”

“Hm..?”

“Do you think..we can make it through this..? Through this stone world..?” Senku doesn’t answer as he continues to look forward, the look of determination on his face. He then looked at her with a small smile, giving her a nod before looking out again.

“Yeah..we can. We can get through it..together.” Whispering the last phrase, his finger that was gently tickling the palm of her hand opens to fill in the space between both hands. She weaves her fingers through his, Senku’s hand gently squeezing her hand once it had fitted nicely into his. [ f/n ] leaned onto his shoulder, Senku doing the same as he leaned onto her. Closing his eyes, he feels her squeeze his hand in return as she exhales softly from her nose and watching the sun set further into the sky before the stars had started to appear.

_‘Now that you’re right by my side again, I feel like I can do anything. So let’s figure out this mystery and take our world back..together.’_


	13. Chapter 13

Back in the empire, Hyoga had walked through the gates with Homura right by his side. He looked at the throne room as his footsteps get closer and closer until he finally is close enough to pull the animal hide to the side. Tsukasa sat on his throne, a visible frown on his lips as he was massaging his temple.

“I’ve returned, Tsukasa-kun.”

“And?”

“Gen’s report was all bullshit. The primitive village already possesses great scientific power because Senku-kun lives..”

The guard standing besides him slightly flinches when he feels an ominous vibe coming from the man as he slightly trembles from his spot. Tsukasa inhales before exhaling slowly, sitting up straighter in his seat. “And it’s not just that. [ f/n ]-dono has decided to team up with them and help defend the village.”

Tsukasa rises from his seat as he leaves the room, Hyoga allowing him to leave first before following right behind him. Tsukasa was headed towards the training grounds as he grabs one of the men’s spears and launches the weapon towards a target, hitting a bullseye. His shoulders were slightly heaving, his head tilted down as he grabs another spear, spinning it between his fingers before slamming it to the ground. 

“We’re going to need a bit more manpower if we’re planning on taking over the village. Possibly a few more than what we currently have.”

“I see what you’re going with Tsukasa-kun, however, the village is surrounded by a mass body of water. If we were to overrun the village now, it’s going to be a disadvantage for us if the weather conditions turn south.”

“So..that means our battle will start right at the end of winter..” Tsukasa mumbles as he clenches the spear in his hand. With one step, he throws the weapon right at the target, piercing through the first spear and right to the center of the target. Tsukasa inhales through his nose before he exhales, turning around and giving Hyoga a side glance with a menacing glare. 

“We shall prepare ourselves for the winter then. For now, we’re on standby until the end of the season comes.”

“And what about Taiju and Yuzuriha? Shall we continue to let them roam around freely?”

“We’ll keep an eye out for them. We also can’t tell them that Senku’s alive either. Even if Taiju and Yuzuriha are double agents, it’s not like they have any source of communication to exchange information.” Hyoga hums as he agrees with his statement, Tsukasa turning around to look at his white haired companion. 

“I’ll have Homura-kun be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. Our communication will be delayed, however, we will get updated news faster than any other man we have.”

“If all goes well..then we can take the villagers and bring them into the empire. I am most likely..going to have to speak with [ f/n ] as well..”

Tsukasa replies before mumbling the last part to himself. He finally takes his leave, Hyoga watching him go as he turns his gaze towards the open forest ahead. His eyes squint for a moment before heading back to Homura and give her her new task. 

  
  


**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


[ f/n ] watched from afar and observed Senku’s interactions as he was speaking with Kohaku, Chrome, Suika and Kaseki. Gen stood by as well, his hands folded in front of him as they were all listening to what he was telling them. She closes her eyes for a moment before remembering the words he told her yesterday. 

_“[ f/n ], listen to me. Hyoga mentioned that you’re Tsukasa’s right hand man so it’s possible that he’ll report back to him that you’re with me now.” Senku had turned to face her, looking into her [ e/c ] colored eyes with a serious look. He then looks down at their joined hands, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before returning his gaze._

_“I know that you’re strong enough to take care of yourself and as much as I want to know more about what you’ve been through, I still need to keep moving forward and--”_

_“Senku.” [ f/n ] cut him off and squeezes his hands. Senku stops as he looked down at their hands for a moment before she tilted her head so that he was looking at her again. She was giving him a small smile as she started to giggle._

_“I know that you probably have a lot of things going on in your head right now, but don’t worry. Just keep doing what you do best, I’ll be here to support you now.”_

_Hearing her response, she could see Senku inhale and exhale a sigh as his shoulders relaxed. He closes his eyes for a moment before opening them and giving her a soft smile in return, causing her cheeks to fluster a bit. She blinks with a bit of embarrassment, hoping that he wouldn’t notice. But soon that smile turns into a smirk as he slightly leans back and looks at the moon._

_“Alright, that sounds much more like it! I was worried that I was going to have to sacrifice another ear just to listen to your stories again.”_

_“Hey!” [ f/n ] gasps as she pouts, making Senku laugh comically. She releases her grip on his hand to cross her arms over her chest, Senku slightly raising his hands up in defense. But as his laughing died down, so did her pout and she soon joined in with his laughter. As they soon enveloped into a comfortable silence, [ f/n ]’s smile wouldn’t leave her lips as she felt confident with Senku’s skills on what he will do to bring back humanity tomorrow._

[ f/n ] couldn’t help but sigh as a small smile formed on her lips after looking back at her memories. She was about to head up into Chrome’s hut but she soon turned her head after hearing her name being called. All eyes were on her now as Suika was waving her over, making her tilt her head with confusion. She walks over, tucking her arms into coat as she looks at Senku.

“What’s wrong?”

“Tell me, [ f/n ]. What’s the most powerful piece of modern technology in human history?”

[ f/n ] blinked as she started to think, tapping her chin as she was going back to all the history books she read. Mumbling to herself she lets out an ‘ah’ as she turns and looks towards her childhood friend. 

“A telegraph?” Senku only smirks before he slightly waves his finger in front of him. Everyone looked at him with confusion as they all tilted their head in unison and waited patiently for the right answer. 

“It’s the right path but we’re going to go even further! The most powerful modern technology has brought us is _communication technology._ So that means our next project is cellphones!!”

The villagers blinked as they tilted their heads towards the other direction, pronouncing the strange name out loud. [ f/n ] looked over to her left once she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder, blinking and giving Gen a nervous laugh when he was sweating and had swirls in his eyes.

“[ f/n ]-dono..h-he can’t be serious..”

“We-Well..considering that he was able to make even a man-powered generator..I’m not surprised he would bring a cellphone up as the next project..” the [ h/c ] haired girl laughed as Gen only dramatically placed his hand over his forehead. The villagers looked at him with more confusion as he quickly turns around to explain what kind of device Senku was trying to portray. Chrome and Kaseki were beyond excited while the others gasped at him with disbelief. 

“Well, considering that make a cellphone in this Stone world is going to a large project. The number of items we need are going to be insane.”

“SO TELL US SENKU!! HOW DOES A PHONE WORK?? HOW IS IT POSSIBLE??”

“Jesus, you guys are so damn close!! Back up a little!” Senku exclaims as he sweats before taking a few steps back. After composing himself he places his hands on his hips and looks at Chrome and Kaseki with a smirk. 

“What we call a ‘voice’ is vibrations sent into the air. When sent through a diaphragm, it will transmit certain pulses of energy in time of those vibrations.”

Gen continues to stand beside [ f/n ] a look of confusion as he tried to understand what he was saying. [ f/n ] glanced at him for a moment before giggling to herself, hiding her smile behind her hand as Gen looked at her before also hiding his embarrassment behind his sleeve. [ f/n ] continues to face forward as she gently folded her hands underneath her cloak, watching him interact with the villagers again. She inhales and exhales to herself, taking a step forward and approaching Senku and the others. She catches their attention, looking at her with a confused look as she only smiles in response. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, but I was hoping I could make a request.” 

Senku raises his brow in confusion as he’s now given her his full attention, along with the others as well. She points towards an open area right by Chrome’s hut and makes everyone look that direction. 

“If you’re going to have a medic in this Kingdom of Science then you wouldn’t mind that I make myself a doctor’s office, do you?” She looks over towards her childhood friend, sending him a slight smile his way as all he did was place his hands on his hips with a smirk. Senku looks around before grabbing an axe and handing it to her, placing the tool in her hands. Then he turns around towards the open space and waves at it before looking at her over his shoulder.

“It’s all yours, go crazy and I can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with, [ f/n ].”

Sending him a small salute, she turns to Gen and asks for him to join her. After complying with her request, the two had started to leave the village with the axe in her hands. All eyes were on them as they watched the pair converse with each other until their backs weren’t in view anymore. Kohaku took a step forward, her focus still on the direction on where they left.

“Is Sensei going to build something next to the hut?”

“What’s an ‘office’?” Chrome questioned as he started to rub his chin. Senku smirks as he chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks back towards his friends.

“Let’s just say that [ f/n ] is going to be building her own laboratory, here.” After the mention of a laboratory, all of the others started to wonder in excitement as they started to discuss what it might be like. But their chatter only lasted for so long when Senku cleared his throat and picked up a few wooden logs from besides the hut.

“Alright, we can always get excited about that later. Let’s get to work on that cotton candy machine!”

“Right!!”

  
  


**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


[ f/n ] and Gen had finally arrived back to her base, looking through all of the main necessities before placing them in the middle of the room. There was a comfortable silence between the two as Gen was sorting through the different clay bottles and [ f/n ] was sorting through some of her homemade journals. The sound of paper flipping through is heard, Gen taking a small bottle before looking inside. As he closes it, he continues to look through the shelf as he was about to speak.

“So when are you going to confess to Senku-chan, [ f/n ]-dono?”

The papers literally slip from her fingertips as she’s caught completely off guard, her cheeks fuming with embarrassment. She frantically starts to gather the fallen papers as Gen sneaks a glance and does his best to hide his mischievous smirk. She sends him a small glare, causing him to fully turn around and give her an innocent look by batting his eyelashes. She starts to pout, looking away from his gaze as she looks down at the gathered papers before starting to organize them properly. 

“Yo-You know better than I do that confessing now i-isn’t the right time! Especially since we’re going to be in a war soon..”

“You never know, [ f/n ]-dono!~ Senku-chan is still a _man_ after all. I bet he would be astounded to hear a love confession from someone he likes..~”

[ f/n ]’s ears slightly perk up as she looks towards his direction with shocked eyes. “H-He likes me..?”

“Does he?~ I’m not too sure!~ Maybe you should ask him!~” Gen shrugs playfully as he walks up to place the cups down in the center of the room. [ f/n ]’s eye slightly twitches as she looks away with a pout, grabbing the papers and also placing them in the middle of the room. 

“You’re a tease, Asagiri-kun..”

“Even _I_ have to encourage you to find out certain information by yourself, [ f/n ]-dono. The least I did was give you a slight _hint_.”

[ f/n ] looks towards his direction as he was gathering the last of the medicinal herbs. She couldn’t help but smile at him before finishing her area and cleaning out the desk. She gently pats her hands together before placing them on her hips and waits for Gen to be finished. Once he placed the last of the herbs into the pile, [ f/n ] smiles before turning around and grabbing something from behind the pile of firewood. She rolls the item towards the center of the room, Gen’s eyes landing on the device before a smile traces his lips and he folded his hands within his sleeves. 

“Put the items that we collected and place them into this wagon. I’m just going to grab one last thing before heading back to Senku and others.”

“And what is it that you’re going to grab?”

[ f/n ] unhooks her cloak as she drapes it over the wagon. She looks around and grabs a piece of rope before gathering her long hair into a ponytail. Once she was able to tie it back, she looks over towards the axe that Senku gave her and walks over to grab it. She looks at Gen over her shoulder before she sends him a smile and rests the axe on her shoulder.

“I’m just going to grab some bamboo for my doctor’s office.”

And with that, she leaves the base and rounds the corner to grab a spare basket nearby. She adjusts the basket on her back before looking up towards the hill and climbing towards the top to the bamboo stalks. As she was making her way up, she looks through them before looking down and peering at a bamboo root. Pursuing her lips to the side, she bends down and cuts the bamboo root and tossing it into the basket she was carrying. 

“Hmm..if I can look at the ingredients that I have, I can probably make some bamboo root soup or something..” [ f/n ] whispers to herself as she smiles, collecting the root. But as she was walking further within the forest, she looks up at tall stalks of bamboo and knocks on a few before settling on one. As she starts getting to work, she’s humming a soft tune as she hits the bamboo stalk a few times before pushing it to let it fall flat on the ground. She did this about three more times, looking at the fallen bamboo while grabbing a piece of rope. She ties them together and heaves the end over her shoulder, exhaling loudly as she starts to slowly make her way back to Gen while dragging the bamboo behind her. Gen was waiting by the front of the shack, whistling to himself as he was patiently waiting for [ f/n ] to return. Gen’s whistling stopped when he heard something from a distance, looking towards it. His eyes nearly bulged out of his eye sockets when he saw [ f/n ] dragging the large stalks of bamboo behind her as she drops them for a moment to catch her breath. She exhales loudly as Gen quickly runs to her side after grabbing a clean cup and filling it with water.

“[ F-F/N ]-DONO!! A-Are you alright!?”

“Ye-Yes, I’m fine Asagiri-kun!! I just need to..catch my breath for a second..” [ f/n ] laughed as she thanked him for the water and chugged the liquid down. Gen looked past her at the bamboo stalks she picked before she sighs with content and places the cup back into the basket. Gen observes her as she takes a moment to stretch her arms and back, his eyes following the familiar line on her cracked skin. The crack was outlined around her collarbone and neck, stopping on both sides of her shoulders. She sighs with content when she hears the satisfied pops and soon turns toward the male beside her. 

“You ready to go?”

“Ye-Yes, [ f/n ]-dono..are you sure you don’t need help or anything..?”

“I’m fine, at least I’m not carrying this load on my back. I don’t have that much strength, Asagiri-kun.” [ f/n ] laughs as she tightens the rope for her hair and adjusts her dress by lifting up the front. After one final huff, she reaches down to pick up the bamboo stalks and starts leading the way back. Throughout their travel, Gen would offer on helping [ f/n ] with carrying the stalks but she would kindly refused and continued to walk back to the base. Their conversation was light as they were hauling the items back, Gen still giving [ f/n ] a worried look before he could finally see Senku and the others coming into view. As they were approaching the Kingdom of Science, their attention was shifted towards the arriving duo as they turned around to say their greetings. 

“Hey, welcome ba--!! EEHH!!??” Chrome exclaimed loudly as he watched the [ h/c ] haired girl heave the bamboo stalks towards the space she had claimed. She walks pass them for a moment, the group giving her a shocked look as she walks over to the spot and drops the bamboo stalks to the ground. She sighs as she places her hands on her hips rotating her neck slightly as her pony tail sways back and forth. Kohaku was about to walk up to her but Senku places his hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving. Kohaku looks towards his direction, giving him a confused look as all Senku did was look at her with a neutral expression.

“What’s wrong, Senku? Shouldn’t we help Sensei out?”

“Just leave her be, Kohaku. [ f/n ] has always been the type of person to manage things on her own. That’s just how she functions with her own projects.”

“Really? That kind of makes sense..I was trying to ask her if she needed help but she kept refusing..”

Senku smirks as he laughs to himself, crossing his arms over his chest as he continues to observe his childhood friend look through the basket Gen brought and starts taking out her tools. “Actually..I’ll tell you a little secret about her.”

Peaking everybody’s interest, they all blinked before they huddled closer to him with their ears open and ready for this new information. Senku looks around before ducking down with them as he cups half of his mouth.

“Actually..the reason why she doesn’t like to rely on people is because..--”

“Senku.”

Everyone that was huddled together flinched at the new voice, all eyes quickly turning towards [ f/n ] as she had her hands on her hips. Chrome, Kaseki and Kohaku were slightly sweating as Gen led the group by taking a few steps away from the woman. Senku stood before her, holding her gaze as she slightly glared at the white haired male. 

“You weren’t going to say something _embarrassing_ , were you?”

“Now what makes you think that?” Senku smirks at her as he followed the same pose, placing his hands on his hips as he grinned. [ f/n ] slightly pouts before turning around and going back to her spot, giving one last glare towards him before she tightens her ponytail and gets to work. Everyone sighed with relief as Senku laughs before turning back and facing Kaseki and Chrome.

“Let’s get started on that cotton candy machine, shall we?”

“Yeah!”

**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


The villagers had started to help out with the making of the cotton candy machine, willing helping Senku by burning more iron sand. Senku, Chrome and Kohaku were approaching the furnaces with more wood, the white haired scientist wheezing as he places the firewood down with the other picked ones. After finally catching his breath, he peers over towards [ f/n ]’s area and was only chuckling from the sight as he placed his hands on his hips. The [ h/c ] haired girl was looking down at a piece of paper while looking at her contraption that she built. After placing the piece of paper down, she goes over to the rope that was attached to the trunk of a lone tree. Untying it, she has a tight grip on the rope before pulling on the rope as the wheels started to turn. One of the cut bamboo pieces had started to rise as she continued to pull the rope until she tied it to the tree and allowed the bamboo piece to hang. 

As she looked up at the piece and started marking it, Gen stood beside Senku with his hands folded in his sleeves. A droplet of sweat travels down his temple as he laughs nervously from the sight. 

“Can’t suspect any less from [ f/n ]-dono to be talented to make a pulley.”

“A pulley is a great tool to use and especially easy to make. That type of invention is so easy, an elementary schooler can even figure it out.”

Gen chuckles nervously as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he looks over towards the white haired scientist. “I honestly think it’s just the two of you..”

Senku looks over to Gen and shrugs his shoulders until he was soon called over by Chrome that the metalwork was finished. Looking over his shoulder, he walks over and grabs the large leather pelt and proceeds to carry the molten metal towards the new mold. Gen observes along with everybody else from a distance as Kaseki was puncturing holes on the side. Once it had cooled down, Senku removes the pelt and takes a hold of the metal rod. Pulling it from the mold, the others were confused when they saw the strange contraption. As the others’ attention was occupied, [ f/n ] turns her head to witness Senku showing off his latest invention. Noticing the spark in his eyes, she couldn’t help herself but smile at the display and chuckle quietly to herself. She feels her heart skip a beat once Senku grins, her cheeks flustering for a moment before laughing when he strikes a pose once Chrome answers his question correctly. Calming down from her spot, she takes a look at the bamboo pieces she cut and labeled before standing from her crouching position. She looks up at the sky before placing her hands on her hips as she looks around for a certain someone. Seeing her standing next to Kohaku, she calls out her name and catches her attention. 

“Suika!” The little girl turns her head and looks at the [ h/c ] haired girl as she slightly waved her over. The girl smiles as she starts running towards her direction, [ f/n ] smiling at the innocence before she stops right in front of her.

“Yes Sensei?”

“I need to ask a favor from you and the kids. Would you mind gathering the children together to help me?” [ f/n ] questions as she crouches to speak to her directly. The child nods as she quickly tucks herself into her melon and heads to the village. Seeing the girl leave, [ f/n ] chuckles before standing to her full height and continues to work on her own base. She was writing down the measurements on each bamboo piece, placing the last piece down before starting to assemble one of the walls together. She grunts as she tightly secures the rope before tying it into a couple knots and hammering it down with her make-shift bamboo nail. Finishing the first wall, [ f/n ] could see Suika running back with several children trailing behind her with excitement. Noticing the group quickly approaching her, she gives them a friendly smile as she crouches again to meet their height. 

“I brought the children, Sensei!”

“Thank you, Suika. Would you mind helping me with something? It’s a great game I call ‘Scavenger Hunt’.” The little children, including Suika looked at her with confusion as they tilted their heads to the side. She looks at them before explaining the task, the stars in their eyes starting to shine as they started to jump in place.

“Ooh, that sounds like fun! Let’s go, Sensei! Let’s go!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

[ f/n ] laughs as she stands straight to grab her things, but not before telling them to wait for her. They all sat in a circle as they started to talk amongst themselves while [ f/n ] grabbed a piece of paper from her pile and made her way to Kaseki. She taps his shoulder, making him turn from his spot and look up at the [ h/c ] haired girl.

“Ah, [ f/n ]-chan was it? What can I do for you?”

“I hope you don’t mind making something for me, Kaseki-san? Senku told me you’re quite the craftsman when it comes to building something.”

“Such kind words..but I’d love to help. What do you need?”

[ f/n ] unfolds the piece of paper as she points to her diagram, Kaseki nodding towards her explanation. Once he understood her blueprint, he takes the piece of paper and folds it before flexing his arms with confidence. [ f/n ] laughs as she gives him a bow before leaving his side and returning to the children. As they noticed her approaching them, they excitedly got up from their seats as they looked up at her while she grabbed a bag and a square looking device. 

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah!”

“Alright! Let's go hunting!” [ f/n ] cheered as they children cheered along with her. They all formed a line as she led the way towards the forest, the children talking amongst themselves as [ f/n ] smiled. After leaving the site, [ f/n ] looked at the scenery before occasionally looking behind her to see the children enjoying the view as well. She smiles as she stops, causing the children to stop as well. She turns around, placing her hands on her hips as she takes out a stick to draw something on the ground.

“Okay, adventurers! Your task is to find a caterpillar! It’s white and looks like this!” Drawing the simple insect on the ground, the children observe as she finishes the drawing and a spur of ‘ooo’s’ come from them. One of the children raises their hands as she looks at them, tilting her head as she smiles at them.

“Do these bugs bite?”

“No they don’t. They’re very gentle and love to eat leaves. Just make sure to be gentle with them, okay?”

“Okay! [ f/n ] smiles as she turns to open her bag, taking out a few clay cups and handing them to the children. As they all accepted one, she also takes out a similar flute that she lent to Gen and holds it up for the children to see.

“Make sure to fill the cups with green leaves for the caterpillars. When you hear a melody from the flute, that means to come back okay? Ready?” The children nodded as she waves her hand and watches them disperse into different places. She laughs when the children are giggling, looking through the bushes while some had started to find a few and place them into their cups. She exhales through her nose as she fills her cup with leaves and starts to take a different direction in hopes of getting as many worms she could find. 

As the day progressed, Kohaku looked around their base as she was nibbling on some cotton candy that Senku had given her. She blinked once she found something strange, turning to look at the unfinished base where [ f/n ] was previously standing. Ruri turns to look at her sister, a confused glance on her face as she walks up to her.

“Is everything okay, Kohaku?”

“It’s strange..Sensei isn’t here and neither is Suika. Have you seen her anywhere?” Ruri looks at her before shaking her head, a bit of worry on her face once a few more people had heard her remark. Chrome looks over towards the unfinished base as well, approaching it before lifting one of her blueprints. 

“Should we tell Senku?”

“Tell me, what?” The white haired scientist asks as he leaves his lab. Everyone turns to him as Kohaku takes a step forward with a determined expression. 

“Suika and Sensei are missing! I’m going to go out and lo--” The sound of rustling leaves is heard in the distance; Kohaku, Kinro and Ginro taking a step forward with their hands on the hilt of their katana. As the rustling grew louder, they continued to stand their ground until one of the children had appeared from behind the bush. The three blinked as more children started to appear and soon, Suika popping out from behind the bush. Kohaku sighs with relief before reaching out and embracing her into a hug. Suika looks at Kohaku with confusion as she hugs her back regardless, Kohaku tearing up just a bit before wiping away some stray tears.

“What’s wrong, Kohaku? Are you alright?”

“Se-Sensei! You were with the children after all! Are you alright, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, Kohaku. I just needed to ask the children a little favor for me.” [ f/n ] smiles as she guides them back towards her unfinished base and starts to collect their cups from their hands. As [ f/n ] turns around to look through her blue print pile, Chrome approaches her and hands the one he was holding. Noticing the design, [ f/n ] looks up from her current task and thanks him for the paper.

“So-Sorry, I got curious..”

“No worries.” [ f/n ] smiles as she stands and walks over to Kaseki who had just finished the item she had requested. [ f/n ] gasps as she looks at the design, a huge smile gracing her lips as she bows and thanks Kaseki. Grabbing the device, she takes it and places it in front of the children as she smiles at the innocent looks. By this point, everyone as curious by what she was doing as they all gathered together to observe her speaking to the children. 

“Alright you guys, lets grab some leaves first!”

“Okay!!” They all said in unison before they dispersed and fetched a few greens. Gen stood beside Senku as they all observed her spreading out the leaves within the box. Once she was done, she grabs her cup as the other children did as well. They all followed in suit as they opened the caps and dumped the contents inside the box, everyone peering over to look.

Kohaku and Ruri jumped once they saw the familiar wiggling of the insects coating the top of the green leaves. They held each other as [ f/n ] picked one up and inspected it closely. Gen screeched slightly as he watched [ f/n ] place it down but pick up another worm.

“[ f-f/n ] what are you doing!? You a-aren’t going to e-eat--”

“What!? No!! Oh god, that’s so gross, Asagiri-kun!!”

“The-Then..what are you do-doing with those th-things..?” [ f/n ] blinked as she tilted her head with confusion, looking over towards Senku’s direction once Ginro finished asking his question. The white haired scientist only smirks as he did his best to hold in his laughter, [ f/n ] doing the same once she places the bug away. Seeing that he was too busy laughing, [ f/n ] shakes her head before turning to Ginro and giving him a smile.

“These bugs aren’t just _regular_ bugs. They can actually make something very soft when they form their cacoons.” Gen’s eyes widen as an idea pops into his head once he heard her explain. He peers into the box one more time before looking at Senku, who only nods once he understood where [ f/n ] was going. 

“Their cacoons are going to be very handy to us once winter comes along. They might not look like it but they can make something very powerful that can even stop the cold.”

“Ehh!? Really!? What are these bugs called??” Chrome asks excitedly as starts started to show in his eyes. [ f/n ] laughs as she crosses her arms over her chest as a smirk places itself on her lips.

“These special bugs are called: _silk worms._ ”


	14. Chapter 14

The group continued to stare at [ f/n ] as she was sprinkling green leaves on top of the insects. As she was reaching into another cup to sprinkle more, she continues to explain the concept. 

“When these bugs form their cocoons when they’re ready, it contains a cotton fiber soft enough to be melded into cloth. So, after letting them settle into the cotton shaped balls, then we toss them into the water.”

“Why would you toss them into the water?”

“To kill the larvae of course, what else?”

“YO-YOU’RE A MURDER!!” Ginro exclaims with a horrified look as he points an accusing finger towards her. She finishes the last cup before putting it away and placing her hands on her hips. She turns slightly to look over her shoulder and gives Ginro a menacing smile, causing everyone to flinch. 

“Yes..I’m a murder..would you like to be the first human demonstration..?”

Ginro starts to hide away in fear behind his older brother, his body shaking as Kinro only gave him a pitiful look. However, [ f/n ] heaves a sigh before turning back towards her main project. Kaseki takes a step forward and looks up at the [ h/c ] haired girl, asking her a question. 

“Do you need some help with anything, [ f/n ]?” She looks at him and shakes her head, giving him a smile. 

“I’ll be fine on my own, besides - you’re planning on ‘testing’ the cotton candy machine soon, right?” She looks back towards Senku’s direction, the man smirking and nodding at her. Senku then turns around and calls for Kohaku and Chrome, nudging his head towards the village as they left to do the said task. As everyone had dispersed to do their own thing, Gen stood by her side with his arms folded within his sleeves. 

“There really must be a secret to why you don’t ask for help, isn’t there [ f/n ]-dono?”

The said woman flinched as she did her best to occupy with building her new shed, fumbling with the rope as she also avoided eye contact. Gen noticed this and tilted his head in confusion, the [ e/c ] haired girl looking over her shoulder with a pout as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. The man blinked as she stops what she was doing before walking over to him and slightly tugging on his sleeve. Gen continues to watch her as he also blushes from the cute action, [ f/n ] still pouting and avoiding eye contact. 

“Don’t tell anyone..okay..?”

“E-Eh?”

**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


Senku, Chrome and Kohaku were looking through the vases filled with rock sugar, plucking them from the sides and gathering them into a clean vase. As Chrome heaved another large rock, Kohaku exhales as she places another load inside the vase. 

“Senku, is there really a reason why Sensei doesn’t ask for help?”

“Yeah, did she get traumatized or something?” Senku looks at his two curious members as they both waited for his response. Senku looked back into the vase that he was working on and pulled out another piece of sugar before speaking. 

“Both of her parents were doctors so they spent the majority of their time working. When she would ask for help, they’d tell her ‘maybe next time’ or ‘I’ll help out later’ but they would be too tired to help her. So she stopped and just did things on her own. That’s just how she is.”

Senku finishes the vase in his hands and places the rock sugars in a tub, looking at Chrome and Kohaku as they were trying to understand what he meant. Another memory crossed his mind as he only scoffs, holding in his laughter as he moves on to another vase. 

“Also when you start helping her she starts to pout and fiddle with her hands like a little kid while tearing up, also trying her best to stop you.”

Chrome and Kohaku blinked at the mention of the unbelievable behavior and watch as Senku continued to laugh to himself. They then turned to each other as a bead of sweat rolled down their forehead. 

Meanwhile back at the camp, Kaseki had called Ginro and Kinro over to help place the walls up to [ f/n ]’s new office. Gen was snickering in the corner as [ f/n ] had a pout on her lips, tears pricking her eyes as she was weakly calling out to Kaseki to stop helping her. She had latched onto Gen’s cardigan, the male trying his best to cover his grin from behind his sleeves. 

“Ka-Kaseki..st-stop you don’t..have to..”

“[ f-f/n ]-dono, at this point you're office will be do-done soon..just let them finish..” Gen said in between his snickers. [ f/n ] whined as she continued to pout more, tightening her hold on his clothing. Noticing the stubbornness, Gen only continues to laugh as the three men who were putting the building together look over and slightly stare with confusion. 

Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku were making their return and they witness the scene in front of them; Senku holding in his laughter as he quickly turns around to hide it. However, Kohaku turns to him with a dead expression as she watches his shoulders shake while he was failing to hide his own laughter. 

“You’re so mean, Senku..”

“I don’t know what you find funny Senku..i-it’s kind of..cute..” Chrome slightly whispers underneath his breath as a small blush starts to form on his cheeks. It was then when Senku suddenly straightens out his posture and walks over to Chrome and dumps his bag of rock sugar into his arms. Chrome grunts as he tries to accommodate the new adjusted weight on his arms, doing his best to carry the sugar crystals. Senku had completely stopped laughing as he went over towards the furnaces to grab an apron. 

“Alright, Kinro! Ginro! Once you’re done there, get over here! You’ve got work to do!”

Ginro whines as he drags his feet towards Senku’s direction, the two brothers leaving [ f/n ]’s workplace and approaching the cotton candy machine. [ f/n ] looks at the white haired scientist, suddenly catching his eye as he sends her a small smirk. Her eyes immediately widen as she blushed with embarrassment, turning away as she did her best to look busy. Senku scoffs a little as he instructs the brothers their new task. As [ f/n ] kept her hands busy, she looked back towards his direction as she observed him guiding the villagers. As she watched him lead the group, she couldn’t help but smile as she pushes some hair behind her ear before looking up towards her new base.

**_Acquired: Doctor’s Office!_ **

[ f/n ] looked at the exterior before she went inside, looking at the fitted roof placed on top of the building. She started to mentally map out the furniture she was going to make, quickly going outside to grab her journal and drawing a quick sketch of her new interior layout. While she was writing down the other materials she needed, she could smell the familiar scent of heated sugar within the air and making her sigh contently. She allowed her nose to take another whiff of the scent as she tilted her head back to get a better catch of it. As she closes her eyes, she could remember the content memories with the sugar treat, remembering her time with family and friends.

The sound of approaching footsteps is heard as [ f/n ] turns to look over her shoulder to see the white haired scientist holding cotton candy out towards her. She couldn’t help but smile as she turned around while closing her journal, accepting the treat from him. As soon as she let her lips touch the fluffy cloud of goodness, she couldn’t stop herself from letting out a content noise of happiness as she let the treat melt in her mouth.

“Man..it feels like it’s been so long since I’ve had cotton candy..”

“Well it has been 3,718 years, idiot.”

“Thanks for stating that information, Captain Obvious.” [ f/n ] teased as she continued to eat her treat. She looked at him as Senku was watching the villagers interact with each other over the new food item, [ f/n ] averting her gaze towards them as she took another bite. The villagers were practically praising the cotton candy machine, hearts literally flying everywhere as they continued to eat it. [ f/n ] couldn’t help herself but smile as she continued to look at them, Gen soon joining the duo with his own treat.

“Considering that this is their first time eating candy, their reaction seems valid.” [ f/n ] laughs as she agrees with his statement, looking down and taking another bite. Senku was silent for a moment before he places his hands on his hips, taking a moment to himself before speaking up.

“Hey Gen.” The said man looked at him, chewing his food as he watched the white haired scientist look out into the distance.

“That girl Homura..do you know what kind of woman she is?” From this, Ginro’s attention was immediately converted to listen to Senku’s gossip with Gen, running up to him to jab his elbow towards his stomach. 

“Ara?~ Senku, is it possible that you’re interested?~ Do you happen to like the petite types??~” Ginro kept pressing, the village girls happening to do their best to listen as well. [ f/n ] had finished her cotton candy as she gazed at the stick before flicking it towards Ginro’s direction. He irks as the stick hits him on the center of his forehead, also strong enough to make him stumble backwards. Senku and Gen could only contain their scoff as the blonde haired male in front of them was doing his best to rub away the pain. However, Senku composed himself as he looks at the villagers, soon telling the truth to his question.

“I’m only asking because we’re currently being watched.” The villagers looked at him with a shocked expression before Ginro blinks and starts to panic. He was flabbergasted as Senku and Gen were explaining the current situation, the thought of being under surveillance under Hyoga’s most trusted right hand man. As [ f/n ] was thinking to herself, she caught a glimpse of Senku turning to the side to face her, bringing her back to reality. 

“Is she loyal to you, [ f/n ]?”

“She’s loyal, however I don’t think she would be as loyal to me if I wasn’t Hyoga-kun. She respects him too much.” [ f/n ] confessed as Senku nodded at the new found information. 

“[ f/n ]-dono is right. If you’re planning on converting her to this side, it would be difficult considering who she respects. But, since she’s only assigned to watch over us, I don’t think she’ll do any harm if you leave her alone.” 

Gen suggests as he folds his arms into his sleeves again. [ f/n ] nods at the idea as she watches Senku continuing to think. As she continues to watch him, she couldn’t help but smile to herself before she turned around to continue her own work. Senku caught this and watched her go back to her hut, Gen following in suit as they both entered the building. He closes his eyes for a moment before exhaling through his nose and looking at the brothers again. 

As [ f/n ] looks down at her materials, she lets out a sigh as Gen takes a few steps to stand beside her. He looks down at the materials as well, a bit confused to see the pieces laid out. 

“What is it that you’re going to make now, [ f/n ]-dono?”

“A spindle. It will help me form string with the cotton I pull from—!” [ f/n ] gasps as her eyes widen from the forgotten sheep. She quickly turns around to grab a straw backpack and some rope for a leash. 

“Wh-Where are you going? It’s almost dark out!”

“I’ll need to grab Poyo before I forget. If you don’t mind, could you move the rest of the stuff inside? I’ll be back in a bit!” [ f/n ] claims as she grabbed her katana on the way out. Gen watches her leave as he was about to call out to her again, only to see her far from view now. Gen sweats slightly as he sighs, looking at the few boxes that needed to be inside. 

“Have a safe trip, [ f/n ]-dono.” He says to himself as he starts to walk over to a box and carries them inside. As she traveled, she did her best to get to Poyo before sun down. She was weaving through the trees, swinging her body as the momentum allowed her to travel faster. She paused as she saw the familiar building in view, smiling as she took a chance to bring down her adrenaline by walking to her destination. Poyo saw her in the distance, rising from its sitting position to get to her as close as possible. [ f/n ] smiles as she reaches to pet it, laughing at its wagging tail. But as soon as she pulled her hand away, Poyo was slowly cowering away as she felt the cool and sharp blade slowly inched closer to her neck. 

She stopped all movement, taking a quick glance towards the familiar weapon as no words were exchanged until now. She could hear footsteps now, hearing the footsteps stop right behind her. 

“I didn’t think you’d be so soft for a mere sheep. You’ve really stooped so low, [ f/n ]-dono.”

“I expect none the less from you, Hyoga-kun. I’m surprised it took you so long to make an attack.” [ f/n ] whispered her reply, a small smirk forming on her lips. Both [ f/n ] don’t speak a word or move a muscle as the crickets are the only thing that could be heard. But it wasn’t until [ f/n ] made the quick move and brought her head back to head butt his chin. Hugo’s flinched and grunted from the sudden impact, [ f/n ] taking a grasp on Hyoga’s wrist and twisting his arm forward. He yells in pain and drops the weapon, glaring at her as he swiped his feet under her. 

[ f/n ] helps as well, falling to the ground as she was facing up. She takes a quick glance in front of her, watching as Hyoga was about to pin her down. However, she beats him to it by tucking her knees to her chest and pushing him away with her feet. [ f/n ] quickly rolls over her shoulder and holds herself into a defensive attack as Hyoga rubs his chin while glaring at the [ h/c ] haired girl.

“You always succeed to surprise me, considering that I have yet to beat you in any close combat matches.”

“You’re a compatible opponent, Hyoga-kun. But don’t you think charging a secret attack would be a good idea? What do you think Tsukasa would feel?”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, won’t it?” Hyoga whispers as he takes a large step forward and quickly closing the distance between the two. [ f/n ]’s breath hitched as she brings her guard up, blocking an attack from above. She guides his arm elsewhere, watching his other arm coming from underneath. She catches it with left hand, shoving it down and pushing him back as best as she could with her shoulder. Hyoga was soon brought back, but he stepped forward again to grab her wrist that was holding onto his fist. With a grunt, he twists his arm to hold her in an awkward position and pin her down. 

[ f/n ] huffs as she’s pinned to the ground, letting out a displeased grunt when Hyoga repositioned himself to hold her wrists up above her head, looking down at her with a glare. She continues to squirm, but that only made him tighten his hold on her. [ f/n ] glares at him, a frown on her lips as Hyoga smirked from underneath his turtleneck.

“Now this is more like it. Have you really lost your ways on how to fight?”

“Oh please, don’t you remember what I said back at the Empire? Never underestimate your opponent.” [ f/n ] smirks as she leans her weight on one side before forcing to roll themselves over and pinning him to the ground. Surprised by the sudden roll, [ f/n ] straddles Hyoga for a moment and took the chance to pull her wrists free. She elbowed him across his face, hearing a disgruntled yelp from him. Hyoga was quick and punching her back, [ f/n ] taking a hit to her cheek but using the momentum to keep her distance. She takes a couple of deep breaths before spitting onto the ground, wiping the access from the corner of her lips. They both straighten out their postures back into a defensive stance, Hyoga doing the same and cracking his neck a few times. 

“What did..you even want to get out from this encounter..?”

“And why should I tell you?”

“Homura-san has been watching us for quite some time now..you were probably going to meet with her in the middle and ask for a report. But considering that you saw me..you thought you could get a sneak attack while I was vulnerable..” 

[ f/n ] explained, her defensive stance not faltering. Hyoga was silent, watching her every move before he slowly relaxed into a standing position. [ f/n ] noticed this and started to do the same, watching him tuck his arms inside his cape. They were both catching their breath, now looking at each other with an intense gaze.

“Again..no matter despite only knowing you for so long, you always succeed on surprising me. That’s why I hold some respect for you.” Hyoga confesses.

They continue to stare at each other before he looks towards the rising sun, dawn starting to rise into a new day. Hyoga bows his head for a moment, speaking again.

“Let us have an official fight when both sides meet. I will be waiting for that battle.”

“Likewise, Hyoga-kun.”

[ f/n ] replies as she also bows her head. Hyoga looks up and gazes at her for a moment before he disappears in front of her, hearing the noise of nature within her presence once more. She slowly lifts her head, looking at the empty space in front of her before her gaze lands on the forgotten weapon lying not that far. Walking over to it, she gently picks it up and wraps it in some animal skin before packing it into her straw basket. She walks over to the cowering animal, gently reaching forward and petting its fur before grabbing the rope she brought and tied it around its neck. Guiding it away from the pen, [ f/n ] tightens the straps to her straw backpack and starts heading back to the Kingdom of Science’s base. 

As she continued to travel, her gaze was shifted straight ahead as the sky was slowly transition and accommodating to the rising sun. Once she started to see the familiar tower and different contraptions, she was glad that she didn’t see anyone in view. [ f/n ] had assumed that everyone was still sleeping and thankful to that, she was able to safely make it back to her base. [ f/n ] tied Poyo’s leash onto a fence she made, leaving it to make itself comfortable before turning around and heading inside of her office. As she pushed the animal hide back, she was taken aback when she saw Senku sleeping on the makeshift bed, his body slighly curled into a ball with his back facing her. However, once he heard the faint noise of an animal outside, he started to stir in his sleep before sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily. Senku turned and saw [ f/n ] standing by the entrance, his brows furrowing together before he rose from his sleeping spot.

“What are you doing just standing there? Get some rest, idiot..” Senku slightly whispers as he starts to make his way closer, [ f/n ] immeditealy looking away and going through her things for something. All [ f/n ] did was put up a smile and ignored Senku’s comment, her fingers fumbling with some of the clay cups she made earlier. 

“Sorry for waking you, Senku. You can head back to sleep if you want.”

“...” Although it was dark, Senku could sense something was wrong with her. He crouches down to be eye level with her, [ f/n ] flinching a bit before she continues to look away from him and fumble with whatever she could touch. Senku looks down at her hands, noticing some slight bruises around her wrists and the slight tremble. He could smell the faint smell of grass, even sweat from her.

“[ f/n ]..” Senku whispers as he tries to call for her attention, but she only continues to ignore him. He sighs through his nose as his hand slightly hovers hers, reaching out and gently tickling the back of her hands. The simple action made her stop, the trembling becoming more prominent and her shoulders were starting to shake. Senku continued to observe her actions, her head hanging low as he reaches to tuck her [ h/c ] hair behind her ear. It was then when he saw the cut on her lip, the scratches on her face and the tired look in her eyes that somthing happened. 

She turned to look at him, her eyes brimming with tears as she did her best to prevent the tears from falling. Senku’s brows furrowed once more, still not saying a word until she turned to fully face him properly. Getting a better look at her injuries, Senku looks down at her wrists before tickling the back of her hand again with his finger.

“What happened..?”

Senku asked with a whispered tone, trying his best to hide the worry and anger that was boiling inside of him. Despite that [ f/n ] is a tough girl, Senku wouldn’t know what to saw if he kept seeing her injured. She didn’t respond right away, however, it was obvious to who caused her trouble.

“I was attacked by Hyoga..”


	15. Chapter 15

Morning arose and people were starting to wake up to continue on with the main project. Gen yawned as he covered his mouth with his hand, rubbing his eyes tiredly and looked towards the direction of [ f/n ]’s base. As he fixes his attire, he tightens the strap to his obi before making his way over to the shack. He notices the familiar animal sleeping against the side of the base, nodding and confirming his thoughts. 

_‘So [ f/n ]-dono did make it back safely. I don’t know what Senku-chan was worrying abo—‘_

Gen smiled as he spoke to himself, reaching forward and pulling the animal skin back and stop himself mid-thought as he saw Senku tending to [ f/n ]’s wounds. Gen blinked as Senku and [ f/n ] look towards his direction, the girl smiling and sending him a small wave. 

“Good morning, Asagiri-kun. Did you sleep well?”

“E-EHH??! [ F/N ]-DONO, ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?” He practically panics as he rushed to her side, Senku reaching out and patting his shoulder assuringly. [ f/n ] giggles from his reaction and nods, giving him a smile as she starts to state her reason. 

“Don’t worry, my injuries aren’t that bad. I just have a few bruises and a cut on my lip. But, it’s something that can totally be healed over time.”

“Bu-But..who would do such a thing..?”

“Hyoga tried to sneak an attack on her. Turns out he was going to meet Homura half way for a report but saw an opportunity when he saw [ f/n ] go back to her old base.” Senku explained calmly as he was fixing her up some more medicine. He comes back with the same pain relieving medicine, resting on a leaf as he sits beside her and hands it over. [ f/n ] thanks him and takes the medicine, grabbing a cup of water that was right beside her to drown it down. 

Gen only looked between Senku and [ f/n ], a worried glance on his face as he folded his arms into his sleeves. He looks over towards the [ h/c ] haired girl, [ f/n ] making eye contact with him before she gives him a small smile. 

“He won’t be coming back to the Kingdom of Science anytime soon. If anything, we should be focused on creating that cellphone to finally pass intel to our double agents, ain’t that right Senku?”

“Kukuku!! Once the cellphone is finished then I can ask Chrome to fetch for more sulfuric acid to create a deadly smoke screen!!” 

Senku muttered under his breath, his shoulders shaking mischievously as he continued to look through [ f/n ]’s materials. Both Gen and [ f/n ] sweat drop from the scene before them but they weren’t really surprised at this point. Gen shakes his head, however, averting his gaze back to look at [ f/n ]. 

“Just relax and don’t push yourself, [ f/n ]-dono. You don’t need anymore strain.”

“I’ll be fine, Asagiri-kun! I’ll just—“

“Listen to him, [ f/n ]. You’re going to be burning yourself out if you don’t sleep for at least a few hours. You know that more than anyone else.” Senku comments, organizing the cups before looking over his shoulder to make eye contact with her. [ f/n ] slightly stiffens from her spot, a blush slowly creeping up her cheeks as she looks away flushed. 

“Fi-Fine..but I’ll just take a 30 minute nap. Then I’ll get back to work.”

“If you wake up earlier than that, then I’ll have you inhale Trichloromethane.”

“Are you trying to help me or kill me?” [ f/n ] comments as she slightly sweats from her spot. Gen smiles from the interaction and brings his gaze back to the [ h/c ] haired girl, noticing that he was looking at her. 

“I’ll leave you to get some rest, [ f/n ]-dono. I’ll come back to check on you once Senku-chan says it’s okay.”

“Thank you Asagiri-kun.” 

Gen nods as he slightly bows his head, rising from his seat and leaving the building. But before he could actually leave, he stops in his place and turns around to catch a glimpse of Senku returning back to [ f/n ]’s side and change the bandage on her wrists. The two were talking to each other, [ f/n ] smiling and chuckling at what Senku said, causing him to lean forward and flick her forehead. She whined towards the attack but Senku only laughed and smiled towards her direction. The male gently tickles the back of her hand as he weaves his fingers through hers, gently squeezing her hand before letting go and standing from his spot. 

Gen gasps softly before he quickly leaves from his spot, walking away to join Kaseki who was prepping for another working day. The older man gives him a confused glance as Gen peered over his own shoulder to see Senku leaving [ f/n ]’s hut. He seemed to be in a better mood once he started to guide the villagers towards the cotton candy machine they had made. Gen only seemed to giggle behind his sleeves, Kohaku noticing this and sweating a bit as she held the basket filled with charcoal in her arms. 

“Why does Gen look so menacing everytime he laughs..?” Chrome only looked towards Gen’s general direction as well as he also sweats, shrugging towards Kohaku’s question. They both looked at each other with worried expressions before the two were called over by Senku. 

Moments pass as [ f/n ] had started to stir from her sleeping position, her eyes fluttering open as she slowly started to sit up from her makeshift bed. As she was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she flinches from the sudden shout that she assumed was Ginro’s voice, getting herself out from the sheets as she peeks her head outside of the hut. Senku, Kohaku, Chrome, Gen, Kaseki and Suika were huddled together in a circle brainstorming together as Ginro and Kinro also tried to help their situation. She continued to try and blink the sleep away, shifting to walk towards the group while tying her hair in the process. Once she started to walk closer, her presence became known when Kohaku turned to greet her.

“Ah, good morning Sensei. Sorry, did we wake you?”

“A little bit..what’s going on?” [ f/n ] yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Every time we make the cotton candy, there’s little sugar clumps on the candy itself and we’re unsure on how to fix the issue.” Senku mumbled as he placed his hand under his chin, still thinking. He was tapping his chin with his finger, his mind brainstorming over other ideas that could help the situation before they planned on using the gold. They insisted that they demonstrated so Ginro and Kinro got into position and started to pull the strings back and forth. [ f/n ] was fully awake at this point, observing the brothers work as the cotton candy machine was spinning accordingly while cooking the sugar in the middle. 

[ f/n ] hums as she looks around, also tapping her chin as her eyes land on Kohaku’s round shield that she was wearing on her back. Then, the [ h/c ] opened her mouth for a moment before she quickly ran back to her hut, everyone watching her leave to enter the building. After fumbling around in her things, she smiles as she picks up the item and walks outside. She opens her hand with the content facing them, Senku’s eyes widening as a grin manifested on his face.

“Why don’t you use this?”

“[ f/n ], you’re a genius! Plus, Kohaku’s shield is the perfect size for this!”

After Kohaku excitedly took her shield off her back, she went along and started to hammer down nails on her round shield (along with her father screaming in agony in the background). [ f/n ] smiled with a small blush to her cheeks as she handed the item to Senku, giving the [ h/c ] haired girl a smirk before attaching it to the cotton candy machine.

**_Acquired: Gear!_ **

After sampling the contraption with a small bit of gold, everyone’s eyes sparkled as the golden threads were leaking through the small holes. Chrome watched Ginro spinning Kohaku’s shield, his brow furrowing together as he started to think. Chrome gasped, his eyes wide as he turns his head towards Kaseki. 

“AN IDEA STRUCK ME! KASEKI, COME HERE!!”

“E-Ehh!?” The old man was dragged away from the others, Chrome softly whispering the idea. Everyone blinked as they stared at the pair with confusion until they were all blown away from the strong wind of Kaseki breaking out from his robe. Kaseki then proceeded to drag Chrome along into the forest, beginning what they wanted to build. 

“W-What kind of thing do you think those guys are doing..?”

“Well..boys are boys. They’ll probably show us when they’re finished with it.” Senku groans as he rises from his spot. Kohaku looks down at the golden wires as she slowly twists them together, a content smile on her face as she had successfully made a solid piece.

“Well Senku, how long should we make these wires?”

“Hmm..it will probably have to be long enough from here..TO THAT MOUNTAIN!” The villagers looked at the mountain with shock, their eyes nearly bulging out from their eye sockets. [ f/n ] could only sweat from their distress, the older villagers and children soon gathering in a circle to start on the task of twisting the golden wires together. 

“Man..it’s a good thing that you’re the village chief, ain’t that right Senku-chan?”

Senku only smirked as he continued to put gold into the cotton candy machine. [ f/n ] turned around once she saw a child trip, dropping all of the gold wires and looking up at them in a panic. He slowly starts to tear up, his brows furrowing together as he was about to cry. However, [ f/n ] walks up to the boy, placing her hand on his head before helping him up to his feet. She gives him a warm smile, helping him pick up the golden wires and placing them back into the wooden bowl. 

“It’s okay, you don’t need to cry. I’ll help you! How does that sound?”

“O-Okay..” The little boy replies as [ f/n ] nods and stands to her full height. She takes a hold of the boy’s hand and walks towards the group of people gathered in a circle, sitting down on a free space. The little boy sat next to her as they started to work on the wires together, a smile returning back on his face once she gave him another smile. The children were in awe from the kind nature, easily going up to [ f/n ] and asking her questions while holding the wires in their hands. [ f/n ] laughed as she answered them one by one, the kids soon becoming comfortable with her presence. Gen smiles at the interaction, Kohaku and Ruri stopping to observe the scene as they gave her a look of admiration. 

“I never knew that [ f/n ]-san was so well adept with children. She’s a natural.”

“[ f/n ]-dono did take care of the revived children back at the Empire. She would sing to them and play with them while others didn’t want to give them any attention.”

Gen commented while looking at the group of people sitting in a circle, [ f/n ] was speaking to one of the children as they all started to laugh at something she had said. Her smile was bright and radiant, unwavering as Gen, Kohaku and Ruri walked off to continue on their way. The mentalist looks at them as he noticed Kohaku was wearing a basket, deciding to sneak away from the spartan’s craft club and help the women with their task. He joins their side again, greeting them and walking alongside them towards the forest behind Chrome’s hut.

“And where are you ladies headed?”

“We’re just going to gather some ingredients for some lunch later. Would you like to join us?” Gen couldn’t be happier as he agreed to help them, folding his hands inside his sleeves as they lead the way. While they were traveling, there was the sound of nature in the air and birds chirping from the sky. The comfortable silence was overtaken by the sound of flowing water, Ruri and Kohaku slowly walking down the hill towards some fruit trees. Gen had grabbed one of the fishing rods that Kohaku was carrying, about to settle himself down on the ground but had stopped all of his actions once he saw something catches his eye. Looking off towards the right, he noticed a green plant swaying against the wind when the breeze passed by. He looked at the shape and tilted his head to the side, standing to his full height and approaching it.

He reaches out and plucks a piece of the plant to inspect it closely, his eyes widening before he brings the basket over and starts taking a handful of the plant. Ruri had noticed him collecting something, peeking over from where she stood and calling out to him. Gen looks back at the blonde sisters, a sly smirk on his face as he presses the plants against the basket.

“I think I found a great essential towards modern time eatery. And I’m sure [ f/n ]-dono would know what to make with these plants.”

“Oh! An ingredient that [ f/n ]-san knows how to cook? I’m actually excited about that..”

“Oh, her cooking is amazing Ruri-nee! You should really try this ‘bread’ that she makes. It’s so delicious..” Kohaku comments as her cheeks blush from the memory of the piece of food. Gen could already feel his mouth water slightly from what could be made with this ingredient so he quickly gathers more that fills the basket and heads back to the village with the girls. Once he returns, Senku was managing the golden wires coming from the cotton candy machine and [ f/n ] had stood from her spot and was about to grab another bowl of golden wires to work on. 

“Oh, [ f/n ]-dono! Could I have a word with you, please?” [ f/n ] looks at him with a confused look before placing the bowl down inside Senku’s lab and walking over to him. Ruri and Kohaku were right beside him, smiles on their faces as they watched her approach them. [ f/n ] continued to have a confused expression but that didn’t stop her from giving them a friendly smile.

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

“Kohaku, Gen and I went off to gather some ingredients for lunch later and Gen happened to stumble upon an ingredient that you might recognize.”

Ruri explains as she reaches behind the basket Gen was carrying and pulling out the familiar green ingredients. [ f/n ] looks down at it before picking it up from Ruri’s hand, inspecting it closely. [ f/n ] blinked before her eyes widened, shifting her gaze towards the mentalist as all he did was smile in return. She waves them over towards her own lab, the three following right behind her as they walked inside. She grabs the basket that Gen was holding, dumping the contents on the ground and looking at the ingredients in front of her.

“So, Sensei. What are these green plants called?”

“Yes, [ f/n ]-san. Do you also know what these are used for?”

[ f/n ] smiled as she grabs a nearby bowl and starts to pluck the ‘C’ shaped plant, pushing the contents out onto the bowl. “This ingredient was very popular in the modern era and was used to sustain a healthy diet. This could be made into every meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. When made correctly, it can be taste like heaven.”

[ f/n ] explained as they looked down towards the bowl filled with pea shaped beans, the pale color contrasting against her fingers when she was shuffling the contents. Gen looked at her with hopeful eyes, taking a seat beside her as he looked at her with a grin. [ f/n ] looked towards Gen’s direction and gave him a smirk, praising him for his discovery. She quickly turns back towards Kohaku, making eye contact with her.

“Kohaku, if you could do me the favor and gather more of these plants so I can start making meals for everybody.”

“Roger that!” Kohaku smiles as she quickly grabs the now empty basket and leaves the hut to gether more ingredients. Ruri watches her leave the space, her attention going back to the [ h/c ] haired girl sitting down. She then takes a spot to her right, looking down at the beans placed in the bowl.

“[ f/n ]-san, what is the first thing that you’re going to make with these things?”

“We’re going to make some soup. But before we get to the soup part, we need to make the main base of the soup. And with that, we’re going to need to make something called: miso. Then, while the beans are marinating, we can make tofu to go with it!” [ f/n ] smiled as she continued to pluck the beans out from the main plant, rising to her feet to grab another bowl and handing it to Gen and Ruri. 

“And what do you call these ‘beans’? I’ve never seen one like this before..”

“They’re called soybeans and you can create _many_ things with soybeans. Such as; milk, tofu, paste, and so much more!” Ruri looks at her and smiles, continuing her task as she gathers as many beans into her bowl.

“Well..I can’t wait to see what you can make with these soybeans. If anything, I would love to learn how to cook from you, [ f/n ]-san.”

“It would be a pleasure, Ruri-san.” Both girls giggled as they continued their work, Gen appreciating the light atmosphere as he looked down at his own bowl of soybeans. He looked towards [ f/n ], catching her attention as she tilted her head.

“Is something wrong, Asagiri-kun?”

“No..I’m just excited that I can finally get to eat miso soup again..” Gen practically cried, displaying an over dramatic pose as Ruri and [ f/n ] sweatdrop from it. However, [ f/n ] couldn’t help but laugh as she couldn’t help but agree with his statement.

“Well, I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss it. But with this amount, I’m sure I can make something..pretty special.” 

**_Acquired: Soybeans!_ **

  
  


**~~~~~~**

The Kingdom of Science was hard at work, creating a Hydroelectric powered generator (thanks to Chrome and Kaseki), batteries and light bulbs. However, despite the massive progress that they were making, Senku had noticed that it’s been quite sometime since he saw [ f/n ]. He would catch a glimpse of her working with Ruri and Kohaku sometimes, but most of the time she would be off doing her own thing in her “lab”. Senku had placed some of the finished batteries inside Chrome’s hut, noticing that the weather was changing and snow was falling from the sky. Winter had finally approached the Kingdom of Science so, the villagers were preparing for the winter that is to come. After finishing his task, he exits the hut but not before looking around the working area to find the [ h/c ] haired girl nowhere in sight. He climbed down the ladder and approached [ f/n ]’s lab, knocking on the wall beside the door before sliding the animal hide to the side. 

Looking inside, he noticed that there was furniture in the process of the making, but there wasn’t any sign of [ f/n ] anywhere. He looked around, his brows furrowing together in confusion as he walked out of the building and placing the animal hide back to its original position. Senku looks around, finding Gen speaking with Chrome and Kaseki.

“Gen, have you seen [ f/n ]?”

“She was speaking with Ruri, the last time I saw her.”

“Are they in the village?” Gen nods as he points towards the small group of men and women who were huddled around a large bin of berries. Senku thanks him before heading towards the village, walking on the bridge as he witness’ his childhood friend speaking with the blonde haired priestess. As they were speaking, they started to laugh at something before continuing their task of picking the berries off the little branches. Senku couldn’t help but slightly smile at the situation, placing his hands on his hips as he took a moment to admire her bond with the village. 

“That woman speaking with Lady Ruri was the one who saved the village with Senku, right?”

“Yeah, that’s her! She’s so elegant..almost like she’s a priestess herself.”

Senku’s ears slightly perked from the gossip he was hearing from fellow villagers. He looks at them for a moment before Gen had slowly walked up to stand beside him, catching the scientist's attention. He takes a moment to collect himself before Senku crosses his arms over his chest, giving Gen a side glance. 

“You know, you never answered my question.”

“Hmm?~ And what would that be, Senku-chan?”

“Hyoga mentioned that [ f/n ] was Tsukasa’s right hand man, what did he mean by that?” Senku repeated, now looking at him. Gen looked back with an amused look, hiding his smile from behind his sleeve. Senku was starting to become a bit suspicious from the strange reaction, a bit more curious now than ever. Gen starts to snicker as he leans closer to the white haired male, making him reach out and push the mentalist away.

“You really want to know that badly, huh Senku-chan?~”

“Will you just answer the fricken question already..” Senku replied with an annoyed tone. Gen continued to laugh at the behavior before straightening his posture and facing forward. Senku noticed this and did the same, keeping himself composed as he waited for his answer.

“From what I heard, [ f/n ]-dono was the first person that Tsukasa revived before reviving other people into his empire. While he was building up his army, [ f/n ]-dono stayed back and helped shelter the others. Helping them sew their clothes, offering them food and even tending to wounds. She’s highly respected within the Empire that people looked up to her and practically treated her like royalty.”

Senku hummed a response as he tried to prevent himself from grinning like a maniac. To be honest, he was feeling so prideful that his childhood friend was put in such a high position on the enemy team and that also meant they had a high chance of sabotaging Tsukasa even more. One of the children held two cups and presented it to Senku and Gen, thanking the child as Senku took the cup from the child’s hands and gently pats his head. Smiling at the gratitude, both males looks down at the cups of wine as Senku took the chance to have a taste. Gen hums as he observes his friend drinking the wine, a sly smirk on his lips.

“[ f/n ]-dono wasn’t just respected because of her kind acts. She was also highly respected because she’s also known as Tsukasa’s woman.”

At the mention, Senku’s eyes widen in shock before forcibly pulling the cup away from his lips and spitting out the wine that he just drank. He started to cough as a few people started to look at him with concern, the same child that gave him the wine coming back with a cup of water. Senku weakly takes the cup of water and chugs it down, letting out a heaved sigh as he turned to glare at the mentalist. 

“Yo-You’re just saying that to pull my leg.”

“Am I? Or am I telling the truth?~ You might never know~” Gen practically snickers behind his sleeves, pulling both of their cups away and patting his back with his other hand. From the sound of coughs, [ f/n ] looks away from Ruri to find the person coughing. Noticing that it was Senku, she quickly dropped what she was doing and rushed over to his side, placing a hand on his back as she looked at him with concern.

“Are you alright, Senku? What happened?”

“No-Nothing just--I drank water too fast..” Senku wheezed, waving his hand as he straightened out his posture. He closed his eyes for a moment to catch his breath, tilting his head back as he inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. Cracking his neck, he looks forward and makes eye contact with [ f/n ] - still looking at him with concern as she was trying to pinpoint the problem. But noticing the proximity, Senku slightly tensed up and broke their eye contact with his ears starting to become warm. 

[ f/n ] gave him a confused glance now, reaching forward to press her hand against his forehead. Senku flinched from the sudden contact and moved to swat her hand away, turning around to walk back towards his lab. 

“Hey, wait! Let me check your tempera--”

“I’M FINE!!” Senku called out, his pace quickened as he crossed the bridge with slightly flustered cheeks. [ f/n ] continued to watch with confusion, looking back towards Ruri and Gen’s direction, the mentalist simply whistling while giving [ f/n ] a smile. She looked at him with a skeptical look and crossed her arms over her chest, her brows furrowed together.

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing but the truth, [ f/n ]-dono~.” Gen cooed, a simple smirk played on his lips as he tilts his head to the side. [ f/n ] was only confused more from his answer, a sigh escaping her lips as she did her best to try and figure out what Gen had spoken to Senku about. But despite that, [ f/n ] only shrugged it off and decided to head back to her own lab and continue what she intended to work on. She waved Gen to follow her lead, the man complying as it only took a few more steps to be walking right beside her. 

She makes her way towards her lab, pulling the animal hide to the side as she looks at the items she currently made outside. She approaches the spindle in the corner of the room, bending down to grab some yarn she had made from Poyo’s fur. 

**_Acquired: Yarn!_ **

She reaches into a basket filled with some strange looking plants, taking a seat on the floor and patting the space beside her as Gen occupies the spot and continues to observe what she was doing. [ f/n ] had started to pull apart the small branch, a familiar item Gen recognized starting to peel from the bark of the plant. 

“String?”

“Mhm. This is a plant called dogbane. It’s known as a fiber plant where the bark is so thin, it’s often compared to another fiber plant called milkweed. It’s soft to the touch, but poisonous when consumed.” [ f/n ] explained as she took a small portion and poked it through the hole of the needle Senku gave her. She picks up a piece of animal skin, flattening it out before weaving the string through the fabric, the fluffiness of the wool bringing contrast towards the animal skin. 

Gen finally noticed that the piece of animal skin she took was actually a sewn jacket, however, she just finished detailing the sleeves with fur around the edges. [ f/n ] smiles at her work before placing the item down before rising from her spot to check on the few large pots places on the other side of the room. She takes a peek inside, looking off to the side and grabbing a spoon full of the contents. She places the substance in two smaller bowls, closing the lid and walking over to the other side of the room. Unaware to Gen, [ f/n ] was boiling some water from the small furnace she made, quickly putting out the fire and letting the furnace cool a bit. Taken the water out, she gently pours it into the bowls and allows the water to fill over the top of the paste.

Gen didn’t mind that she was doing her own thing, however, he quickly looked up from his work once a familiar scent wafted over his nose. He turned around to face her, the [ h/c ] haired girl smiling towards his direction as she held both bowls with her hands. She starts to walk over to him, placing the bowls down and quickly going back to grab some spoons. 

“Here, please try this. Take it as a thank you for your hard work lately.” [ f/n ] chimes as she sits down beside him and wraps her hands around her own bowl. Gen looks down at the simple meal in front of him, wrapping his hands around the bowl as well. Taking a whiff, the smell was comforting and he can already taste it but the scent. With a soft inhale through his nose, he took a spoonful of soup and brought it to his mouth. Pulling the spoon away from his lips, his eyes widened from the familiar taste as he continued to stare at the bowl of soup. [ f/n ] blinked at the slightly strange reaction, tilting her head with confusion as she continued to anxiously look at him.

“I-Is it alright, Asagiri-kun? I know there isn’t tofu in it but there still needs to be a little more--Gen..?” [ f/n ] was looking at her bowl at the time but when she looked up, she noticed his shoulders shaking as he pressed his hand against his mouth to prevent himself from sobbing. [ f/n ]’s eyes widened as she placed her bowl down, scooting a bit closer and gently placing her hand on his shoulder. 

“I-I’m sorry [ f/n ]-dono..it’s just..even a simple meal such as miso soup..it’s making me really miss our time..” [ f/n ] continued to stare as she continued to rub her thumb in a pacifying motion, her eyes cast downward towards the bowl of soup.

“I couldn’t agree more with you..but..we can definitely bring that world back. And..we just happen to have the right people to bring it all back.”

Gen opened his eyes to gaze at her, the [ h/c ] haired girl giving him a comforting smile. Gen continued to look at her as he wiped his tears with his sleeves, straightening out his posture and giving her the best smile he could muster.

“You truly are amazing [ f/n ]-dono..”

“E-Eh? Pl-Please don’t g-give me all the credit! Everyone is amazing!” [ f/n ] continued to stammer with a bit of embarrassment as she was scratching her cheek with her free hand. Gen continued to smile, chuckling before whispering under his breath:

“Oh my..Senku-chan really is a lucky guy..”

“Eh? Did you say something, Gen?” The man looked up at the mention of his given name, the [ h/c ] haired girl giving him a smile in return. He gazed at her before shaking his head and folding his hands into his sleeves once more.

“Nope.”

**~~~~~~**

Night had fallen amongst the Ishigami village and both Gen and [ f/n ] were able to finish removing the soybeans from their husks. [ f/n ] had realized that since the cold weather is really strong this year, the growth of her small little farm was taking more time than it needed so she was worried about her little ‘gift’ that she wanted to prepare. [ f/n ] was currently stationed right behind her spindle, sitting back to lean against the wall as she exhales quietly to herself. Gen had left not too long ago, being called over by Senku and wanting him to help out with something. Speaking of the man himself, he knocked outside of the door and pulled the animal hide back, a smile on his face. 

“[ f/n ]-dono, Senku-chan is calling everyone to see his latest invention.”

“Really? Considering that he was making lightbulbs earlier, it’s probably extravagant.” [ f/n ] chuckled as she rises from her spot, stretching her back slightly. After exhaling contently, she leaves her hut, Gen holding the skin back until she left. Once she was outside, she had noticed the people gathering around Senku and Kaseki. Noticing the two approaching, Senku turns around and gives them a slight smirk.

“What is all this about? It’s practically dark out. Not only that but it’s starting to snow.” [ f/n ] commented, rubbing her hands slightly from the cool weather. Senku’s smirk didn’t falter, if anything it grew as he turned to look at Kaseki who gave him a thumbs up. 

“It won’t be dark for long, just you wait. Turning the switch: now.” Senku replied as he flipped on a light switch. Everyone turned to look at him until a bright light had started to illuminate the dark sky. All eyes were on the large tree in front of them, the look of awe from everybody started to cheer from the beautiful display.

[ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile as she slightly covered her mouth with her sleeve, admiring the tree as the snow was falling from the sky. Senku moved to stand beside her, looking up at the illuminated tree with triumph. Kaseki chuckled as he also turned to look at the white haired scientist, folding his hands inside his poncho as he admired their work.

“I can’t believe it took two months for us to finish this project. It took quite some time, don’t you think?”

“Nah, I’d say it went all according to plan.” Gen blinked and had noticed their conversation, tilting his head in confusion until an idea had popped into his head.

“Ah! Could it be today is..”

“Christmas..” [ f/n ] muttered under her breath as her eyes never left the tree. Senku turned to look at her, [ f/n ]’s face being complimented by the illuminated lights. The snow had added an effect, causing Senku’s heart to practically skip a beat. Senku smiled from the sight before him, soon looking up towards the tree and placing his hands on his hips. 

“Yeah..now that you think about it. What a coincidence.”

“Liar~” Gen scoffs as he folds his hands into his sleeves. Chrome was also among the group looking at the tree with astonishment, his eyes nearly bulging out from his eye sockets as he literally couldn’t believe his eyes. Then all of a sudden, an idea struck him after staring at the tree for so long. He quickly looks over at Senku’s direction, calling for his attention. Senku gave him a confused look before Chrome approached him, steam slightly leaving his nose as he started his explanation.

“I just thought a great idea! Now that we have these lightbulbs and batteries, can’t we take these and go mining with them?”

Senku, Gen and [ f/n ]’s eyes widened from his idea, Chrome looking at them with a happy and excited expression, taking a step closer towards the three as he brought his fist up with excitement.

“This will be great! We can finally take mining to a whole nother level!”

Senku could only smirk as he started to get excited over the various minerals he could find within the depths of caves. Crossing his arms over his chest, Senku smirks at Chrome as he nods towards his idea.

“You’re right. Tomorrow, we’re going to venture out towards the new possible minerals we could find with Chrome’s scavenger team!”


	16. Chapter 16

[ f/n ] helped Chrome pack a few items for his mining trip, helping him strap his headlight. After doing so, she took a step back and gave him a smile while giving his shoulder a small pat. 

“Alright, you’re set to go Chrome!”

“Thanks [ f/n ].” Chrome smiles back, giving his thanks. He turns to look at Senku, giving him a determined look as he declared that he was soon leaving for his expedition. She turns to look at the duo, her gaze turning back towards her companion. She takes a couple steps forward and stands beside Gen, gently tapping his shoulder to catch his attention. Gen looks at her for a moment and tilts his head in confusion. [ f/n ] slightly waves him closer to her, moving away from the others. As the two had left, the white haired scientist had noticed the two speaking to each other discreetly. He continued to observe her, watching as she was slightly waving her hands around and watching Gen nodding to what she was telling him. She gave him a smile and nods her head as well, turning around and suddenly making eye contact with him. [ f/n ]’s eyes widen for a moment before a blush coats her cheeks and she quickly looks away, catching the mischievous look coming from Gen. The Mentalist was laughing at her at this point, making her fully turn towards him and smacked him on the shoulder. 

Senku only looked at them with a confused glance before Kaseki brought him back to what he initially planned. Kaseki looks at the white haired scientist, watching him look down at the blue prints that they made. Then he turns towards Gen and [ f/n ], watching the two speak to each other again while they were heading back towards her hut. Looking back, Senku was still looking at the blueprints, now making some adjustments before looking over his work again. Then Kaseki gently pats Senku’s back, causing him to turn to look at him.

“Is something wrong, Kaseki?”

“No, nothing is wrong..” Kaseki chuckles as he goes off to start working on the glasswork, causing the scientist to give him a confused look. Chrome had finished packing his things and was about to head out, but stopped to gaze at Kaseki first. He stands by Senku, looking at his friend.

“Did Kaseki say something? He looks a little..happy..?”

“Nah, he didn’t say anything..” Senku mumbled his reply as he gave Chrome a shrug. Chrome replied with one as well, before tugging on his basket and heading towards the nearby caves. While Chrome was away to grab more copper, Senku and Kaseki were working together to create their ultimate new project: the lightbulb. Gen slowly peers towards the working duo while he resides inside [ f/n ]’s hut. As he was watching Senku explaining something to Kaseki, he turns around to peer over his shoulder to watch [ f/n ] fiddling with something. She curses here and there but she continued to work on her own project. 

“I’m sure Senku-chan would mind if you’re going to stay here without helping him.”

“As long he doesn’t come in then he’s going to be fine. Plus, he should know that once I’m in the zone then I can’t be bothered.” [ f/n ] huffed a reply as she continued to mess with the cloth she was trying to put together. She cursed again once she felt the needle prick her finger once more. She starts to suck on the finger for a bit before going back to work. 

Gen sighs as he takes a good look at the room, noticing how full it’s starting to become. His gaze starts with the tall shelves with different types of medicinal herbs and cups of various water mixtures. Another shelf of some written journals she made and some stacks of paper, looking towards the bottom of the shelf and noticing some jars. He looks towards the large furnace as well as the large wok that she had made recently (with the help of Kaseki’s master skills). Along the same wall, there were a few beds that she had made, using the bamboo she had to make bed frames. Bringing his vision back towards the [ h/c ] haired girl in the middle, he watches her finish another border with a content sigh. She looks up from her work and makes eye contact with him, tilting her head in confusion as she raised her brow.

“Is something wrong, Gen?”

The male smiles and shakes his head, folding his hands in his sleeves. [ f/n ] gives him one more confused glance as she decides to shrug it off and continue to focus on her own tasks. Noticing that she was going to start working, Gen stood tall and saw himself out of the hut. As soon as he took his leave, [ f/n ] looked towards the working trio now through her window. She stared at her childhood friend who was speaking with Kaseki and jumping back once the lightbulb had combusted. He started to rub his chin and mumble to himself while going back to the blueprints and remaking the bulb from scratch. Seeing how hard he was working, she couldn’t help but smile at his determination as she stole a glance at her own work. Noticing the partly finished product, she exhaled through her nose before cracking her neck and going back to her original position.

“I better not get ahead of myself and get to work.” [ f/n ] smiled as she started to continue on where she left off.

  
  


**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


Another three days had passed and Chrome had finally arrived from lurking the caves for more minerals to use. Senku acknowledges while grabbing the copper in his hands, creating copper tubes from the funnel that Kaseki made last time. [ f/n ] yawned as she started to stretch her body, leaving the hut as she walked over to check on Poyo. She gently pets the fur as she wipes the snow from the little roof she made for him. As she was going to check on her own crops, she feels a slight tug on her coat and making her look back. Suika had slight tears forming in her eyes as she kept a hold on her coat, [ f/n ]’s brows furrowing as she kneels to be eye level with her.

“What’s wrong, Suika?”

“They’ve been making lightbulbs for a long time..Suika doesn’t know what to do to help..” She starts to sniffle, making [ f/n ] reach out to pet her head in a way to comfort her. [ f/n ] decides to check out the scene herself, standing to her full height and having Suika lead the way. Once she leaves behind her hut, she immediately notices the multiple light bulbs with burnt filaments inside of them and Senku pacing around from where he stood. [ f/n ] noticed Chrome coming back with a basket filled with different minerals, as well as Kohaku coming back with some of the villagers coming to help. They all started to gather and started to look through the basket, trying to help Senku in a way to find a better replacement than the bamboo filament. [ f/n ] continues to observe as she slightly frowned with worry before heading back inside her hut to get some work done. She quickly put away her main project and started to take out her ingredients for some bread, looking through her shelves for the flour. As she was boiling some water for tea, [ f/n ] was shuffling around to find some cups and was unaware of the guest slowly entering the hut. 

After hearing the top rattle, she opens the lid and was about to ladle out some until [ f/n ] jumps from her spot once she realized Senku had made his way inside. The white haired scientist walked over to the side, his gaze looking out as he was rubbing his chin. 

“Jesus Senku, you could’ve knocked or something..” [ f/n ] mutters under her breath, taking the cups and filling them with tea. She hands a cup towards the male, watching him reach forward and taking it. Senku continues to mutter under his breath as he softly blows the steam away before drinking the tea and sighing with relief. As he placed his cup down, [ f/n ] sneaks a piece of bread onto the same hand and watches him start to take bites off the piece. 

[ f/n ] couldn’t help but laugh a little, watching him nibble on the piece of bread while still brainstorming. But the laughter soon died once she noticed how much he’s been glaring at the floor. She reaches forward and gently strokes her thumb against his furrowed brow, catching his attention. He looks at [ f/n ], noticing the worrisome glance and quickly registering where he was. He looks down at the bread in his hand, placing the food down on the plate before he sighed. 

“Senku, you shouldn’t be furrowing your brows too much..”

“There has to be another way we can get around this, [ f/n ].”

“And I know you can find a way. But you can’t strain yourself like this..”

[ f/n ] counters as she reaches out to stroke his brows again. Senku welcomes the touch, closing his eyes as he relaxes a bit and leans his weight against the makeshift counter. As [ f/n ] continued to stroke his brow, she noticed the relaxed expression he was giving which causes her to giggle and catch his attention. Senku hums as he looks at her in confusion, a genuine smile gracing her lips. 

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you this relaxed. It’s like you’re about to fall asleep.”

“Did you just confess that you watch me while I sleep? My god, [ f/n ]. Some fetish you have..”

“Wh-Wha!? I-It’s not like that a-at all!!” [ f/n ] immediately flusters and pulls her hand away, frantically doing her best to defend herself. Senku scoffs as he observes her flustered state, a soft smile forming on his lips as he reaches out and lets his fingers run over the ends of [ f/n ]’s hair. She stops moving and looks at him, the soft blush on her cheeks now prominent and bright. Senku continues to play with them, a soft blush also coating his own cheeks. 

“Thanks.” Senku softly whispered as [ f/n ] smiles in reply. She nods her head and continues to finish cooking the left of the bread, placing all of the clean dishes away. The sound of dishes clatter is heard in the silence between the two childhood friends, Senku and [ f/n ] not having to say a word for a comfortable atmosphere. Once she takes out the last loaf of bread, she puts out the fire and looks at Senku who had gone back to brainstorming. [ f/n ] walks over tickles his cheek, catching his attention. Once she makes contact with red eyes, she gestures towards one of the available beds that she made. 

“Go ahead and take one of the beds. I want you to get as much rest as possible, alright?”

Before he could respond, [ f/n ] gives him one last look before leaving the hut to feed whoever was finishing up their work for the night. Senku sighs before looking down at the padded futon with the bamboo bed frame, a scoff escaping his lips. Feeling himself turn around to take a seat, he sighs with content as he removes his shoes and tucking himself into the blanket. He lets his head rest on the pillow before looking up at the ceiling of the hut. 

“She really does go all out with these things..” Senku softly whispers to himself, letting out one more sigh as he closes his eyes and feeling his body almost powering down. He inhales and exhales through his nose and allows himself to slip unconscious and sleep peacefully that night. 

_He feels his body relax as he just admired the plush and softness of the futon, tugging onto the blanket further and curling into it. But as he just found the perfect spot on the futon, he could hear the sound of beeping in the distance and causing him to stir. He wanted to turn around and shut it down, but he couldn’t find where it was placed. But as he was about to reach out from underneath the covers, the alarm clock snoozes as he could hear a set of footsteps walking around him._

_“Senku, time to get up. You don’t want to be late for school, do you?”_

_Senku’s eyes quickly snap open, rising from his futon and noticing the familiar scenery. He was in his own bedroom, machine parts and his unfinished project on top of his desk and the faint light coming through the curtains of his window. He looks around the poorly lit room and sees his door slightly open ajar, making him slowly rise from his bed. As he reaches out and pushes his door open, he looks around and cautiously makes his way downstairs. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could hear the familiar sound of cooked food on a frying pan and the clatter of dishes. As he makes his way around, his breath is caught in his throat as he sees a tall middle aged man cooking while also doing his best to multitask by reading the paper. Seeing Senku by the doorframe, he turns around and gives him a confused glance before slightly laughing at his odd behavior._

_“What are you doing just standing there? Come on, don’t want to keep [ f/n ]-chan waiting, do you?”_

_“Wait, Byakuya—I thought you were—“_

_“Come eat first before you ask me something. Hurry before the food gets cold.” Byakuya waves him over and places his spatula down, taking a seat and waiting for Senku to take his. He was still suspicious from this whole scenario but he decided to obey and take his seat. Byakuya smiles and thanks for his meal and grabs his utensils to start eating. Senku could only observe him before looking down at his own food, reaching out to grab the chopsticks and slowly poke at it. But as he poked a small hole into his eggs, he feels a hand patting his head and ruffling his hair._

_Senku stops all of his movements and looks up, noticing that Byakuya has reached over from across the table just to do that. He stares at the old man in front of him, ruffling his hair one more before he opens his eyes to make eye contact with him._

_“Whatever you’re doing now, you’ll find a solution. I mean you’re a scientist, aren’t you? I believe you can do it, Senku.”_

Senku feels his eyes start to open, doing his best to blink away the sleep. As he moves from his spot, he takes a look at his surroundings and notice the familiar layout of the hut. He sighs as he turns his head to the right, noticing a lump underneath the blankets and [ h/c ] hair peeking from the end of it. Senku sighs as he reaches out and tugs the blanket further to cover the sleeping girl. 

_‘That’s right. I shouldn’t be hung up over this, I gotta think of something else to work with..’_ Senku thought as he gently plays with the ends of [ f/n ]’s hair. He sighs through his nose and pulls away, closing his eyes for a moment. Then, when he turns to lay on his other side he was greeted by Gen while using a flashlight to light up his features. 

“Wakey wakey Senku-chan!~”

Senku practically spits out air as he was caught off guard from his sudden appearance. Gen then composes himself, turning the light off once he successfully woke up his friend. From that little bit, [ f/n ] starts to slowly wake up, rubbing her eyes and looking at the two in confusion. 

“It’s New Year’s Day so let us all watch the sunrise together. Changing one’s mood to a brighter one is kind of my job, isn’t it?”

“Man, you mentalists are such a pain in the ass you know that?” Senku grumbles as he scratches the back of his head. He looks back toward the girl behind him who was yawning from her spot and slowly getting out of bed. Senku chuckles and helps her out, urging her to join him with everybody else. [ f/n ] nods sleepily and folds the blanket while Senku waits for her. They both bundle up and head out, making their way to meet up with the rest of the villagers. As Gen and Senku we’re talking, [ f/n ] yawns into the back of her hand and noticed the familiar watermelon shaped helmet sleeping against the basket. She walks up to Suika and gently taps her shoulder, waking her up. 

“Suika, have you been outside all night? What were you doing?”

“I was trying to help..find something to fix the lightbulbs..” Suika answers with a sleepy tone, causing [ f/n ] to smile. She follows her, along with the rest of the villagers up the hill as [ f/n ] falls back to join Senku and Gen. 

“We’re almost there, everybody!”

As they all start making it to the top, the sun had started to slowly rise from the horizon. But while the sun was rising from over the mountain, a shiny blue light had started to illuminate and catching everyone’s attention. The crystallized rock that Suika was holding had started to glow, her eyes wide as she held it at an arm's length. Senku’s eyes had widened, his mouth agape as [ f/n ] stood next to him with her hand covering her mouth. The blue light had quickly subsided as it returned to its original color, Chrome walking up to Suika and inspecting the rock up close. 

“Wow..I’ve never seen a rock shine like that before..”

“Yeah, me too. That is an ultra-rare crystal and I commend your excellence Suika and Chrome! That was used within the modern day era to make filaments.”

“Atomic number 74:Tungsten..” [ f/n ] whispers as she walks up to Suika and picks her up from her spot. Suika looks at her and was immediately hugged by the [ h/c ] haired girl. 

“Suika, you found Tungsten! It’s considered the strongest metal in the universe! Nothing could ever break it now!”

Within the next few hours, Senku and Chrome had prepped themselves with gear to go mining. Everyone looks at the duo as Senku looked down at the available set of gear, looking back towards the villagers before him. [ f/n ] stood by Gen, watching Senku as he placed his hand on his hips. And with his final decision, he points to who will be joining them on their excursion. 

“Magma! To bring back the scheelite, we need someone with insane strength. This excellent trio is going to go treasure hunting!”

Senku helped the large man put on the gear, Kohaku and the others looking at each other with worry. But as Magma had tightened his strap around his waist, Gen looked at [ f/n ] who quickly returned his gaze. The [ h/c ] haired girl gave him a curt nod and that signaled what he had to do. Bowing his head in response, Gen left [ f/n ]’s side and approached Magma to whisper something in his ear. The tall blond man looked at him with a suspicious look, eyeing him. Magma then turns to look back at the [ h/c ] haired girl, causing [ f/n ] to meet his eye. She gave him a small smile before bowing her head slightly, catching Magma off guard. The man looks down at Gen as he smirks towards his direction and walks away from his side to return back to [ f/n ]. She still held the small smile, causing a small blush to form on Magma’s cheeks. He meekly returns the gesture with a small bow of his head, Senku calling out to him.

“Alright, lets go you two! Onto the cave of treasures!!” Senku starts to lead the way but looks over his shoulder towards the group watching them leave. He makes eye contact with [ f/n ] who quietly blinks from the contact. She gives him a small smile and waves at his way, softly mouthing a few words only he understood. 

_‘Have a safe trip’_

From that, Senku smirks and sends her a wink, causing [ f/n ] to stiffen from her spot mid-wave. Senku snickers to himself as he could feel a bit of embarrassment burn on the tips of his ears as he quickly makes his away away from the village. [ f/n ] could stop the blush forming on her cheeks as she crouches from where she stood, doing her best to cool her cheeks down. Suika saw this, looking at her in confusion as she walks over and gently pats her shoulder. 

“Are you alright, Sensei?”

[ f/n ] merely groans as Gen was snickering behind his sleeves, quickly composing himself once he feels a slight glare coming from the ground. Gen clears his throat as he waves his hand over his head, calling to the others. 

“Hi hi!~ Could I have your attention please! I have an amazing story to tell you all!”

They all turned to look at Gen in confusion, slowly making their way over to him and [ f/n ]. By now, the [ h/c ] haired girl had completely composed herself and looks at the group in front of them. As [ f/n ] stepped forward, all eyes were focused on her as she gave them a smile. 

“Now that Senku’s gone..let me tell you something..”

  
  


**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


It has been three days since Magma, Senku and Chrome traveled to the nearby caves to gather scheelite. Night had fallen and the moon was up nice and high, illuminating the dark sky. Magma was carrying Senku on his waist, the scientist struggling under his grasp as Chrome was following behind him. [ f/n ] had barely finished her piece of work and had decided to walk outside to catch a breather. But as she pushed the animal hide to the side, she could see Magma approaching the village in the distance. [ f/n ] gasped as she went back inside, preparing her things while calling out to Gen. The mentalist quickly caught on and called for Kohaku who immediately helped Magma bring Senku to their newly built establishment. As [ f/n ] was putting together the final arrangements, she looks down at her work and smiles before putting it away into her homemade box. 

As she carefully carries the box towards Chrome’s hut, seeing the villagers watch her wobble. The previous village chief helped her up the ladder, carrying the box with him as [ f/n ] climbed up first. Kinro was waiting by the door, coming over to help as soon as he saw [ f/n ] climbing up. Taking his hand, [ f/n ] thanks him as she grabs the box from Kohaku’s father and gives him a hand as well. Opening the door, [ f/n ] looks around at the finished product and couldn’t help but feel proud at their accomplishment. [ f/n ] looks and sees Gen approaching the blindfolded Senku, giving him a greeting. She places the box down in the corner and approaches the two, standing beside him. 

“Senku-chan~ Welcome back~”

“What the hell..” Senku muttered under his breath. Kohaku scoffs as she crosses her arms over her chest, replying to Senku’s remark. 

“It’s pointless to ask for help, Senku. Everyone in the village is with Gen now!”

After hearing this, Senku starts to laugh with a bead of sweat running down his temple. [ f/n ] noticed this and started to frown, wanting to reach out and caress his cheek. 

“Kukuku could it be that you all realized..that offering my head to Tsukasa on a silver plate is the most rational, if underhanded, course of action for the stability of the village?”

The silence was tense and [ f/n ]’s eyes widened from Senku’s remark. [ f/n ] soon exhaled from her nose and took a step forward, catching everyone’s attention. She reaches out and gently brushed her fingertips against his cheek, causing his breath to be caught. She gently tickles his cheek and runs her thumb against his cheekbone, to which Senku sighed contently. 

“..I’m not sure what you’re talking about but..” [ f/n ] whispers as she looks behind him and nods towards Kohaku’s direction. She complied and pulled the blindfold away from his eyes as [ f/n ] pulled her hands away as well. Senku was blinking, readjusting his eyesight from the temperwary darkness. But as soon as he was able to see again, he realized that he was looking through a scope with a clear vision of Saturn. 

Senku’s eyes widened as he decided to take a step back, looking at the room he was in. Suika and the others were smiling, watching him look around and towards the telescope he had just look through. 

“A telescope? No..an observatory..” 

“Oh ho!! We heard it was your birthday, Senku! So we decided to give you a birthday present!” Suika cheered as she jumped from her spot, excitedly shifting from side to side before running over to [ f/n ]’s side. The girl chuckled as she placed a hand on her watermelon mask, gently patting it before looking at Senku again as he places his hand on the telescope. 

“To be fair, the telescope was made from faint memories but without [ f/n ]-dono’s exact measurements, it probably would’ve turned out to be a bit sloppy.” 

“Everyone in the village had helped put this together for you. And then, you know, you can fix it and tune it up in the long run.” Gen chimed as he watched Senku walking forward and looking out towards the villagers. He continued to be silent for a minute before he turns to look at the telescope again and laying his hand on the base of it. 

“So I’m assuming that’s what you and [ f/n ] were talking about the other day, then? She told you when my birthday was?”

“Actually..we had to make sure. So I asked Gen to ask you.” [ f/n ] says, her hand still on top of Suika’s watermelon head. Senku blinks as he looks at the mentalist, realizing the question he asked him on New Years Day. 

“Ahh..you lead me into it. But without knowing how long I’ve been petrified, you wouldn’t be able to do the math—“

“You don't remember? The date you were depetrified.” Senku’s eyes widened as he looked back towards Gen and [ f/n ] who only returned with a smile. [ f/n ] could remember the day when she found the written date on that tree, her heart couldn’t stop beating after the realization came in. 

_That day, Tsukasa was showing the cave of miracles to Hyoga and explaining the process of reviving Stone people. [ f/n ] was able to convince Tsukasa to have her come along since there was some bananas she found within the same place. Gen accompanied her, walking right behind her as she stood by Tsukasa’s side. As they were approaching the cave, [ f/n ] had told Tsukasa she was going to collect bananas while him and Hyoga spoke about any business they needed. Tsukasa nodded and leaned over to kiss [ f/n ]’s cheek, causing her to blush from the action. She smiled meekly before waving Gen over to follow her._

_But when she saw that Gen wasn’t behind her, she looked around while the others left for the cave. [ f/n ] blinked as she finally saw him looking at the trunk of a tree, the look of disbelief on his features._

_“What is it, Asagiri-kun?”_

_[ f/n ] turns to look at where he placed his hand, Gen taking a step back to let her observe as well. As [ f/n ] looked at the written date carved into the tree, [ f/n ] couldn’t help but place her hand beside the date and place her free hand over her mouth._

_‘Senku..’ [ f/n ] immediately thought as she could feel tears prick her eyes. She looked towards Gen’s direction as he only nodded in response, causing her smile to widen._

[ f/n ] couldn’t help but think back to that memory, she didn’t realize she was zoning out while Gen spoke. Gen looked at the [ h/c ] haired girl beside him, the smile not leaving his lips as he turns to look at the sky outside of the observatory. 

“I guess from the start, I was already fond of you Senku-chan. Forget what I stood for and what I gain from it. And I think everybody in the whole village thinks the same too. But I guess you’ll think it’s gross, huh?”

Senku continues to listen as he sends him a smirk, looking towards the mentalist. “Yeah, that’s pretty gross.”

“Right?~”

Senku chuckles at the response and turns his gaze towards [ f/n ] who was still petting Suika’s head. Gen quickly caught this change and clapped his hands, catching everybody by surprise. 

“Alright! It’s been a long night, I think we should all head to bed! Come on, let’s go.”

“Eh?? But I want to know what [ f/n ] made for Senku!” Chrome exclaimed as Gen was literally pushing everybody out. After the call out, [ f/n ] flinched from the mention of another gift, causing Senku to look at her direction in confusion. Gen almost smacked the heck out of Chrome as he continued to shove them out, the mentalist looking over his shoulder towards the remaining pair. Gen sends a final wink towards [ f/n ]’s direction before leaving the observatory and closing the door behind him. They both blink as they stared at the door before Senku looks at her again. [ f/n ] looks away shyly and scratches her cheek, doing her best to avoid eye contact. 

“So, what’s this _gift_ you made for me?” 

Senku teases, crossing his arms over his chest. [ f/n ] could hear the smugness in his voice and that caused her to send him a slight glare. Senku only shrugged and held his ground, his smirk not faltering. With a final huff, [ f/n ] sighed and moved from her spot and towards a small cabinet shelf in the back of the room. Opening the cabinet, she pulled out two seat cushions and placed them in front of Senku. He looked down at them and looked at [ f/n ] again, watching her leave to pull something long from the cabinet as well. 

Senku noticed that she made a foldable table, quickly helping her place the item down and unfolding the legs. After placing it down, Senku watches her fetch the box she placed earlier, slowly waddling over towards the table. As soon as she places it down, [ f/n ] takes a seat on the cushion in front of her. Senku follows, sitting in front of her as he patiently waits for her to speak. She takes a deep breath and looks at him, quickly averting her eyes away once she realized he was looking at her. 

“Is this something you’ve been working on, lately?” Senku asks, catching her attention again. [ f/n ] glances towards his way, a small smile gracing her lips as she gently placed her hand on the box. 

“I’ve been working on it for a few months now, actually..” she replies, still feeling shy. But as she feels a tickle on the back of her hand, she looks at Senku again and noticed that his smirk is gone and replaced with a genuine smile. She smiles back and allows him to weave his fingers through hers, squeezing his hand in return. 

“I wanted to make you something that I thought will help you relax somehow. I did my best to replicate it but I can only do so much with the tools I had, y’know?”

[ f/n ] gives his hand a quick squeeze before releasing it and reaching for the box. She opens the box, taking out a napkin and some chopsticks to place on the table. Senku watches her take her own pair of chopsticks out, observing what’s in the box. But it wasn’t until his nose smelled something familiar, his posture straightening as soon as he saw steam coming from the bowl she pulled out. 

“It was hard to grow the wheat in this cold weather, but I’m glad they pulled through towards the end. And compared to the fox millet noodles, I had enough to make some whole wheat noodles too.”

[ f/n ] explained as she placed the bowl in front of him, Senku’s gaze fixated on the neatly presented bowl of ramen before him. She soon takes another bowl for herself, closing the box as soon as the food had been taken out. Senku hesitated to pick up the chopsticks before [ f/n ] reaches over to push the utensils closer to him. He looks at her as she gives him a nervous smile, picking up her own utensils and waiting for him to start eating. And just like they did many years ago, they bowed their heads and thanked for the meal. 

Senku dips his chopsticks in and takes out a good amount of noodles, the scent of the miso in the air as he leaned forward to take a bite. [ f/n ] watched him as he ate, slurping the first set of noodles as he chewed them. He was silent as he continued to chew his food, [ f/n ] anxiously sitting in front of him as she just watched him eat. 

“I-Is it good..?”

Senku continued to eat, not responding to her question. But as she continued to stare at him for an answer, she noticed visible tears running down his cheeks as Senku ate and causing her to blink in surprise. [ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile as she started to dig into her food as well, silently enjoying their food together. 

After basking into the silence while eating their meal together, they both successfully finished their food as they placed the utensils down. [ f/n ] noticed that he was done and decided to take his bowl, opening box to put the dishes away. [ f/n ] sighed contently as she arranged the inside to close the box shut. 

“Man it felt like I haven’t had a proper meal in years. Well, realistically speaking — it has been a few thousands of years.” [ f/n ] chucked at her remark as she stood on her feet to place the dishes away. But as she was putting the box down, she quickly feels arms wrap around her body and catching her off guard. She looked down and noticed Senku’s bandaged arms, slightly looking over her shoulder to see him burying himself into her shoulder. 

“Thank you..it was delicious.”

She could feel his breath against her neck, causing her to blush from the close contact. However, she still smiles and reaches back to place her hand on his head. She gently strokes his hair, causing him to tighten his hold on her. 

“It’s not the same as the ramen shop back then but I did try my best.”

“It’s way better than the first prototype that’s for sure.”

[ f/n ] laughed as she closes the cabinet doors, feeling Senku’s arms loosen around her body. Once she was free, she was about to clean up until [ f/n ] feels Senku playing with the ends of her hair. She looks back at him and watched her take a piece of her hair and stroke it in between his fingers. He looks up from his work and makes eye contact with her, causing her heart to beat. 

“[ f/n ], there has been..something that I’ve been meaning to clear up with you since high school. But we have to be there and save all of humanity first. If you could, would you wait for me..?”

As soon as he finished what he wanted to say, he brought [ f/n ]’s hair up to his lips to kiss the ends of it. 

_ba-bump_

[ f/n ] stared at him with flushed cheeks, blinking and hesitating on what to say. But as soon as the silence lasted for longer than a minute, [ f/n ] couldn’t help but hold back her laughter. Senku flinched and flushes in embarrassment as he glared at her, reaching out to pinch her cheeks. 

“O-Oi, quit laughing! I’m serious!”

“B-But!! Th-That’s so out of ch-character of you, Senku!!” [ f/n ] laughed into her hands as Senku continued to pull her cheeks. Senku’s cheeks were flushed with a red hue as [ f/n ] couldn’t hold in her laughter anymore, his cheeks practically burning. But after a while, Senku smirked and caught [ f/n ]’s attention again, opening her eyes and wiping the tears that were forming.

“Whatever, it was embarrassing but it still worked.”

“What worked..?” 

“I made you blush.”

“Wh-Wha!?” [ f/n ]’s eyes widen as her voice was caught in her throat, Senku snickering at his successful remark. He quickly moves out of the way as [ f/n ] was about to throw a pillow at his face, hiding behind the foldable table for protection.

“Get back here and face me Senku!”

“Kukuku!!”


	17. Chapter 17

Winter was slowly passing by, the sky filled with grey clouds while the air was cold and still. Tsukasa huffed as he tugged his lion pelt closer to his body as he was walking towards the children’s section, seeing the children huddled close together for warmth. But once he came into view, their eyes brightened as they got up from their seats and started to head over to the gate to greet him. Tsukasa gave them a warm smile as he entered, giving each child a gentle head pat. 

“Tsukasa-nii, you’re here!”

“Are you here to tell us a story, Tsukasa-nii?”

“I can if you’d like, but we should sit by the fire first to keep ourselves warm.” Tsukasa chuckled as he started to usher them back towards the fire. As they followed his direction, they all started to huddle closer together again, huddling closer towards Tsukasa as he took a seat. As he placed his hand on top of a boy’s head, the youngest of the group had crawled onto his lap. He was giving them all attention, petting their hair as they made themselves comfortable. The youngest looked up at him, laying his head on his chest as he called out to him. Tsukasa looked down and smiled at the young boy, his eyes innocent and bright.

“Tsukasa-nii..do you know when [ f/n ]-nee is going to come visit..?”

Tsukasa looked down at the boy, unsure what to say. He knew that if he kept telling them the same ‘lie’ they would notice. But it seemed to him that the children were already catching on towards the pattern. He looked away for a moment, thinking to himself as the other children started to listen into their conversation.

“Is she sick? She said that she would sing to us next time.”

“Yeah, can we go visit her Tsukasa-nii?”

“Hmm.. [ f/n ] is currently..not here. She’s been busy with errands.” The children started to frown at the excuse Tsukasa told them, still convinced. Tsukasa had started to feel guilty for putting up the same front he had just to cover up that [ f/n ] had sided with Senku. Changing the atmosphere, he placed his hand on the youngest one’s head and giving him a smile.

“When she returns, I’ll tell her to sing you a song okay? I’m sure she’d do it anyways when she gets back. For now, how about a story?”

The brightness came back into their eyes, a grin forming on their lips as they all agreed in unison. Tsukasa chuckled as he started on with his story, Hyoga standing by the side with his arms tucked into his cloak. After what seemed like a few minutes, the children were fast asleep and all laying their heads on Tsukasa’s lap. The long haired man sighed as he was stroking the youngest child’s hair, making sure to move his hair away from his eyes.

“You can’t keep telling these children that [ f/n ]-dono is coming back. She might not even come back at all.”

“I know. Once this winter is over, it’s most likely the next time I see her will be the start of the Stone Wars.” Tsukasa commented as he slowly started to shift and move the children to their sleeping spaces. After tucking all of them in, he looked down at the youngest one and strokes his hair once more.

“I don’t even understand why you revived children in the first place. Aren’t they just a hassle? They’re just going to end up being in the way of--”

“Children are the light of any world we live in. They have the potential to accomplish anything that pleases them. They’re the future.” Tsukasa comments, interrupting Hyoga’s opinion. Tsukasa takes a step back and looks towards his white haired companion, giving him a soft smile.

“Or at least, that’s what [ f/n ] told me. And it’s convinced me thus far.”

Tsukasa looks away as he starts to walk away from the sleeping children, his back turned as Hyoga continued to look at him. He tore his gaze away from the long haired man to gaze at the children, his eyes squinting just a bit before he left his spot to follow Tsukasa out. As the two were leaving, Tsukasa had his gaze cast downward for a moment as he stopped his movements. Hyoga looked at him, watching him look up from the ground and looking out towards the sun that was hidden behind grey clouds.

“Hyoga, if [ f/n ] returns, I want you to inform me right away. And never speak of her residing with the enemy.”

“..yes Tsukasa.” Hyoga hesitated, his grip on his spear tightening by the second. But as Tsukasa looked out towards the civilization that he was able to bring back, he couldn’t help but close his eyes as the image of the [ h/c ] haired girl appearing in his mind. 

_‘Tsukasa-nii..do you know when [ f/n ]-nee is going to come visit..?’_

“Let’s go Hyoga. We need to check on the other homes if they’re holding up alright for the winter.”

“Yes, Tsukasa.”

The day continued on, Tsukasa speaking with the other villagers and catching up with them while Hyoga stood by his side. The long haired man smiled as he chuckled with a few village residence, keeping a smile on his face. As he was making his way back towards his house, Minami peering from her little cubby. She was slowly kicking her feet back and forth as she was laying on her stomach. She lets out a soft whistle as she waves her hand towards Tsukasa, who only looks up at her and sends her a nod.

“It’s going to be a chilly night tonight, Tsukasa. Do you need some company?”

“It’s alright, Minami. Though if you do get cold tonight, I don’t mind sharing the fire with others.” Tsukasa replied as he gives her another nod before heading back to his house. Minami pouts as she rests her chin on her arms, her mind going back towards the familiar [ h/c ] haired girl that would always be right by his side.

_A storm had passed as Minami had the worst of luck to leave her hut for food. She quickly went under a large tree and tried to rub her cold arms to create friction, but it was no use. It wasn’t until something soft and warm was gently touching her cold arm, making her look towards the direction it was coming from. She looked into [ e/c ] colored eyes and a soft smile as the girl stood in front of her, soaked to the bone._

_“You can use this to get back to your hut, Minami-san.”_

_“But..you could get sick if you don’t head back right away. Shouldn’t you be worried about yourself?” The girl beside her smiles as she places the coat in her hands before taking a step back._

_“I’m more worried about you though, Minami-san. I mean if I do get sick, who’s going to watch Tsukasa for me?” She replied, sending the blonde girl a wink. She immediately blushed in embarrassment, about to retort back with a come back. But the girl in front of her only laughed with amusement and turned her back towards her, facing the heavy rain._

_“I’ll see you around, Minami-san.”_

_And with that, she left running towards Tsukasa’s hut. She quickly opens the door and is welcomed by the firepit’s warmth, feeling a chill run down her spine. Minami started at her leave, holding the coat in her arms as she couldn’t help but pout in defeat._

_‘You’re good, [ l/n ] [ f/n ]. Too fricken good..’_

The blonde girl hummed as she continued to watch Tsukasa walk away with Hyoga, her head turning as she let her cheek rest on her arms. She brought her legs down as she crosses her ankles, thinking to herself once more.

_‘She must’ve found the person she really wanted to be with if she’s been gone for this long.’_

Returning to Tsukasa, he sighed as he sits on his chair and leans his head back. Hyoga stood in front of him, holding his spear close as a few of the other guards were setting up a fire pit for him. However, Tsukasa waves his hands and signals them to stop.

“All of you can head back to your homes to rest. I can set up my own fire pit, thank you.”

“Alright, good night Tsukasa-dono.” The men greeted as they bowed their heads and left their posts. Hyoga still stood by, watching Tsukasa rise from his chair and walked over towards the firewood. As he picked up a piece, Hyoga stops him and places his hand over the plank of wood.

“Please, allow me Tsukasa.”

“Don’t worry about me, Hyoga. Go get some rest. We can talk more tomorrow.” Tsukasa insisted as he tugged the plank of wood away. Hyoga continued to stare at him, before he pulls away and takes a step back. Once he lets go, Tsukasa starts to make his own fire pit by stacking a few on top of each other. Grabbing the flint and stone, a clicks them together before the fire had successfully started. 

“..I’ll take my leave then. Have a good night's rest.”

“You too.” Tsukasa calls out as he watches Hyoga leave. After finally being alone, he inhales and exhales through his nose as he takes a seat once on his throne. The dark sky was illuminated by the moon, the fire also emitting light as he looks out in the distance. He looks down at his hands, clenching and unclenching to see his empty palm. Tsukasa leans back and allows his head to rest against the back of the chair, remembering the youngest child’s voice ringing in his mind.

_‘Tsukasa-nii..do you know when [ f/n ]-nee is going to come visit..?’_

As Tsukasa thinks about the [ h/c ] haired girl once more, he couldn’t help but imagine her smiling at him and practically feeling his heart soar. He places his hand over his chest, remembering the time when they were alone together. 

_It was a night just like this, the moon high up in the sky while the fire had kept them warm. [ f/n ] sat beside Tsukasa, her eyes gazing up at the stars as Tsukasa continued to admire her flawless features. Feeling eyes on her, she turns to look at him and causing Tsukasa to look away with embarrassment. [ f/n ] laughs at the display and starts to apologize before her gaze is now fixated on the fire in front of them. As he averts his gaze back to her, she had pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear._

_“[ f/n ]?”_

_“Hm?” She responds, her gaze still fixated on the flames. Tsukasa slightly turns to look at her again before asking his question._

_“You take care of the children so well, did you have any siblings? If so, I can look for them and revive them for you.”_

_[ f/n ] blinks and looks at him before she chuckles under her breath. Tsukasa could feel his cheeks heating up just from the sound of her laughter, his heart beating twice._

_“Sadly no, I’m an only child. I’ve always had a soft spot for children since they’re just so curious about anything.”_

_[ f/n ] chuckles as she looks back at the burning flame, Tsukasa still fixating his gaze onto her. She tucked her knees close to her chest and wraps her arms around them, letting her chin rest on her knees._

_“I’ve always wanted a sibling, but I knew that with my parents’ busy schedule, I’m not sure they would have the time to take care of it. Let alone myself..”_

_[ f/n ] mumbled the last part of her sentence, immediately shaking her head away from negative thoughts and turned her head to look at the man beside her. She gives him a small smile, letting her cheek rest on her knees this time._

_“What about you? Do you have any siblings?”_

_Tsukasa looks down and adverts his gaze towards the fire as [ f/n ] looks at him with a confused look. “Yes. I have a little sister. But she was admitted into a hospital at such a young age..”_

_“..was she critically injured..?” [ f/n ] hesitantly asked him, looking towards the fire but still glancing towards his way after silence filled the air._

_“The doctors..told me that she is clinically brain dead and..they doubted she would have a chance to regain conscious.”_

_As the [ h/c ] haired girl listened, she finally clicked the pieces together as she turns to look at Tsukasa. He was staring at the bonfire, watching as it was starting to die down and reaching over to grab another piece of wood. Once he placed it down, he looks over towards her direction and looks at her in confusion before he gave her a small smile._

_“So that’s why you..”_

_“I needed the money to keep her on the machines. I know she’s not the type of girl to give up so easily, so I wanted to help her as much as I can.”_

_[ f/n ] continued to stare at him before a smile etched her lips, Tsukasa feeling the familiar blush coating his cheeks. She averted her gaze towards the fire again, rubbing her arms slightly to keep herself warm._

_“If I had the time, patience and skills, I would’ve done the same thing for those children you revived. That’s if they were my siblings, that is.” [ f/n ] chuckles._

_“They aren’t even related to you, yet you treat them like your own. Why is that?” Tsukasa asks as he continues to stare at her features. [ f/n ] hummed as she looked down, finding a stick by her feet and picking it up between her fingers. She started to poke the fire, organizing the sticks that were in the fire pit while trying to come up with her response._

_“Children have the potential to do anything. Their imagination is their drive to do what they want and it’s fascinating. And if there aren’t people like us to help them guide their way to a bright future, then who knows what kind of people they will turn out to be. Children are the key and the light to the future.”_

Tsukasa opens his eyes as he softly clenches the clothing material he was wearing. He looks down towards the dying bonfire before he rises from his seat. He turns and makes his way towards his room, pulling the animal hide back to get some rest. However, with the children in his mind, he was probably going to have another sleepless night thinking of another way to keep [ f/n ] out of their minds.

**_~~~~~~_ **

Back with the Kingdom of Science, after many laborious days and nights working away on the materials that they needed, they were able to complete their first cell phone. The villagers had cheered with excitement as Suika had switched on the electrical waves and Chrome’s voice had gone through one megaphone through another. [ f/n ] sighed with relief as Gen chuckled, watching over the excitement over the village. 

“I get the whole voice dancing in the skies but how are we going to catch it?” Senku dramatically looks over towards Kohaku’s direction, Chrome, Suika, Kaseki and the others looking back at him with a shocked expression.

“Ah shoot, we gotta make another one.” 

Everyone soon falls over from the small mistake he made, Gen sweating from the response and [ f/n ] spitting out air. She started to laugh at the comical response the villagers made but she only realized that there was more work that had to be done. However, Senku motions towards the wires that were coiled together and had placed a phone from Chrome’s hut to Ruri’s hut. He started to extend the wires, [ f/n ] walking along side Ruri as they were making their way back.

“We might not have another phone to make a _cell_ phone but if we use a long wire, then it will be a regular telephone.” Senku explains as he soon hooks up the connecting end towards Ruri’s mic. [ f/n ] stood besides Gen as a few of the other villagers observed him put the finishing touches. As Ruri sat in front of the microphone, everyone in the room had stayed silent as they were anticipating for the first phone call in 3,700 years. The device suddenly made a click noise and the sound of Chrome’s voice could be heard from the other end. 

All the villagers gaped with shock, looking down at the device as they started to cheer at the hard work they had put into. [ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile at the bright atmosphere, letting out a sigh of relief once she allowed her tense shoulders to relax. 

“I don’t get it at all..how can something so small speak..?!”

“It’s kind of like a speaker!” Ruri chimes as the children were gathering around her. After hearing the familiar word, [ f/n ] blinked as Senku hums and starts to explain the difference from a mic and a speaker. However, Senku quickly caught onto what she had initially meant, looking towards the blonde haired woman.

“Ruri..what did you say? ‘ _It’s just like a speaker’_?”

“A speaker is a type of bee, isn’t it?”

“A bee??” Gen questions as the children that had gathered started to chant the name. Ruri continues to give Senku a confused glance, tilting her head to the side. 

“From the 100 stories passed down through Ishigami Village, story 14: long ago, there was a bee named speaker that loved to talk. And when Speaker stuck it’s needle end into as gravestone, the voice of the dead would speak.”

Senku furrowed his brows together as he placed his hands on his hips, [ f/n ] and Gen expressing a similar expression as they all started to think. Senku started to mumble from the different possibilities of what that little story meant. However, as [ f/n ] was doing her best to figure out what Ruri had meant, she blinked when an idea crossed her mind. She looks towards her childhood friend who still held the same position, one of his free hands rubbing his chin.

“Hey, Senku. When I arrived that day Hyoga-kun attacked, you kind of filled me in on the history of this village right? It was Byakuya-san who wrote those stories?”

“Yeah. What does that have to deal with the story right now?”

“Well..it’s story number _14_ and if you think about it, _‘ishi’_ is how you would write it, right? Doesn’t that mean ‘ _stone’_?” [ f/n ] asked as she gently taps her chin. Senku and Gen blink as their mouth was agape from shock, an idea suddenly striking Senku’s mind. 

“The graveyard..Byakuya’s gravestone..!” Senku quickly took action and sprinted out of Ruri’s hut to head towards the village graveyard. Gen and [ f/n ] look at each other as they don’t hesitate on following him, following Senku towards a large hill of different gravestones. As they all started to climb to the top, Senku was panting as he looked down at the oddly shaped gravestone, [ f/n ]’s eyes peering down at it before a smile breaks out.

“My old man was pretty clever, I should’ve known sooner.” Senku scoffs as he picks up the stone. They all flinch when he moves the stone around in his hands, Kinro taking a step forward and slightly glaring at him.

“Stop it, Senku! You’re going to be cursed for messing with the dead!”

“You see, this isn’t just any _ordinary_ gravestone. It’s a time capsule. And if my prediction is correct, we just need to smash the contents containing what’s actually on the inside.”

“Did you say SMASH??” Magma cheers as he had pulled his mallet behind his back. However, people started to freak out as they waved their hands over towards him, immediately telling him no. Senku sweats as he laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he steps forward.

“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s possible that there’s something delicate inside so we’re going to need someone fast to break this item out.”

Kohaku decided to take a step forward, holding some tools in her hands. She takes a deep breath before quickly getting to work, intricately breaking the stone with intense speed. [ f/n ] did her best to cover her eyes from the stray rocks that were flying everywhere, but it wasn’t until she heard a holo _crack_ when she looked from behind her sleeves. Inside the stone was a silver looking item, her [ e/c ] eyes glowing as she takes a step to grab the item. Senku watches her as a small smirk etches his lips, watching her until she inspects the item and looks back towards his direction. She had a smile on her own lips, her hand clenching the item that was revealed.

“Is it possible to make the device with the parts we have?”

“Oh, it’s definitely possible.” Senku chimes as [ f/n ] hands him the silver piece of rock, leading the way back towards the lab. Taking some tongs, he gently dips the device into hydrochloric acid and lets it sit for a moment.

“The reason why it’s silver is because it’s coated in aluminum foil to preserve it. But when you soak it in hydrochloric acid, it should melt right off.”

As Senku explained his actions, he carefully takes out the contents and pulls out a glass like item from the flask. Everyone started to awe from the sudden change, Senku holding it up as he looks towards Gen with a smirk. “‘ _Disk’ ‘Speaker’ ‘Speaking with a needle’_ It kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?”

As Gen looked at him with a confused look, his eyes widen as he takes a step closer to take the device from his hands. Gen looks down and see the visible ridges on the piece of glass, his smile widening after realizing what it is.

“It’s a record!!”

“So the record was created a thousand years ago by Senku’s father? Amazing..”

“Actually, it’s possible that Byakuya-san thought it was a good idea because it has a round and flat surface..” [ f/n ] chimes as she crosses her arms over her chest, Senku also replicating the same pose while agreeing with her. 

“Astronauts are extremely smart people so one of them probably brought up the idea to the old man.”

Senku replies, [ f/n ] laughing at the thought of Byakuya cringing from his son’s remark. She walks up to Gen and asks to hold the record, the man complying and handing it to her. As she held the glass piece in her hands, [ f/n ] immediately felt the ridges on the glass surface and smiled at the thought. However, one of her fingers slightly caressed the bottom of the disk, she could feel more ridges underneath. Blinking from the familiar touch, she slightly turns it over and noticed the pattern of cut glass but not as filled as how they found it. Senku had walked towards the parts of the telephone they had just created, detaching the microphone. 

“Luckily we can make a record player using the parts we already have from the telephone. Let’s hurry and put this together to hear what the old man left behind.”

Senku chimes as he smirks while the others get to work. A few had gathered some of the pieces, placing them on the table for Senku to piece together. [ f/n ] had placed the record down next to Senku as she quickly left to fetch some rope from her hut. Once finding the item, she heads back to Senku’s lab and places the piece down. [ f/n ] observes Senku as he was assembling the record player together, Ruri coming in with a cloth in her hands. 

“I’m back. This is what I use to knit, hopefully it will be of use.”

“That’s perfect, we can depict sound with this bone needle.” Senku hums as he picks the item up. He mumbles something under his breath as Chrome picks up what he heard before running back to his hut. [ f/n ] calls Ginro over and hands him Kohaku’s shield, giving him a friendly smile. 

“Could you be the one to spin the device, Ginro-san?”

“An-Anything for you, [ f/n ]-chan!!” Ginro sets himself behind the device as soon as it was all put together. [ f/n ] turned to Kohaku and Ruri, taking a step forward and also giving them a smile.

“It would be great to have everyone from the village to come listen to this. If you could help guide everyone over here?”

“Sure thing, we’ll go get them.” The girls nod as they left to walk back to the village, leaving her to sigh under her breath. She turns around to look at Senku, watching him add the final touches by attaching the needle to an extended arm. He then sighs and takes a step back to look at the finished product, a satisfied nod and hum leaving his lips. [ f/n ] walks over to right beside him, both of them looking down at the glass record. At first the two don’t say anything for a while and Gen had noticed the atmosphere the pair was emitting. He calls out to Chrome and asks him a question, leading both of them out of the lab for a moment so the pair could be alone. Sneaking a glance towards Senku’s way, [ f/n ] faces forward and softly mutters under her breath. 

“Do you think it’s going to work?”

“Glass is durable enough so this should work. The sound quality isn’t going to be as nice but it’s something.”

“Something that Byakuya-san would think of?”

“Yeah, something Byakuya would definitely think of.” Senku chuckles from his own response, glancing to the side to gaze at the girl beside him. She chuckled along with him, witnessing her smile graced her lips. Senku looked at her smile as the familiar heat covered his cheeks for a moment before a genuine smile etched his lips as well. He was about to reach over and tickle the back of her hand but had immediately pulled away once he heard people chatter in the distance. 

“I brought everyone over, Sensei.”

“Thank you, Kohaku.” [ f/n ] smiles, sending her a small nod. The village people were whispering amongst themselves, worried glances looking towards Senku and [ f/n ] as the white haired scientist took a step forward and lets out a sigh. 

“Turn it, Ginro.”

“On it! Luckily it’s just like spinning the cotton candy machine so I’m used to this!”

Ginro huffs as he starts to turn the shield. They all watch the glass record spin in circles, Senku taking one more step to place the needle down against the ridges. The sound of static is heard through the megaphone, making [ f/n ] peer towards the device with shock. 

_“To whomever is listening to this: I know now how many hundreds of thousands of years passed by now..but I am the astronaut Byakuya Ishigami.”_

The villagers couldn’t contain their excitement as soon as they heard the voice of their founder. Senku started to pick his ear with his pinky, turning his head slightly to tell them to pipe down. [ f/n ] stood beside Senku, her eyes wide as she places her hand over her mouth. 

“Oh my gosh, it works..”

_“Baah, what am I saying? Being so stiff sucks so let’s drop the formalities!”_

There was a bit of silence through the megaphone, as if the person on the other side was adjusting his grip on the mic. Then Byakuya’s voice came out again, [ f/n ]’s gaze softening as she stares towards the record player. 

_“Senku, you were free from petrification and is currently listening to this record now. You’re there, aren’t you Senku? I know you are. From across centuries, millennia or even longer than that..this is the final phone call from me to you.”_

Senku smiles, feeling the hope through the phone as he continues to listen to his dad. As he continues with his speech, [ f/n ]’s ears slightly perked from the tone of his voice starting to change and raising a brow. 

_“Senku..never forget that I always..always..just kidding! That kind of parental sentiment is not your style! Let’s get down to business.”_

“Hehehe! He gets me.”

[ f/n ] couldn’t stop herself from spitting out air, covering her mouth and doing her best to not laugh too loud. Kohaku pouts at the interaction, causing her to make a sly remark about the odd relationship between the two. However, she was unaware of her father crying in the back and looking at his daughter with a pout as well. [ f/n ] finally composed herself from her laughter, coughing into her fist before Byakuya continues to speak.

_“Senku, if perhaps you’re struggling on winning the hearts of your comrades in the village, just let them hear this. To those for whom the light of music has been snuffed out we present..”_

The sound of ruffling is heard on the other end, everyone trying to decipher what is happening on the other end. But then everyone started to hear the sound of a beautiful voice through the record player, causing a chill to run through everybody. [ f/n ]’s breath hitched as she immediately recognizes the voice, her mouth open agape as her hand slightly covered her mouth. 

“Lillian Weinberg. I forgot she traveled with Byakuya-san too..”

The words of her song was hitting everyone’s hearts, almost like an encouraging push to keep moving forward. [ f/n ] looked down at the ground and smiled a sad smile, the hand that was covering her mouth had moved to clench her clothing. Senku clenched his hands, stealing a glance to the girl standing beside him. He suddenly started to feel a bit confidence go through him, hesitantly reaching out to touch [ f/n ]’s finger. The softest touch made her hand twitch, opening her hand to him as his hand engulfed her smaller one. [ f/n ] still continued to listen, closing her eyes as her cheeks started to warm up and feeling a smile form on her lips. Senku huffed as his ears were starting to turn pinkish red as well, focusing his eyesight on the record player in front of them as he gently squeezed her hand. The song had started to come to a close, the baffled gasps and the sniffling heard within the air.

“A song..”

“I’ve never heard anything so be-beautiful..”

“Well, even in our time, Lillian-chan was one of the world’s greatest singers. But I feel you..hearing her like this so suddenly.” Gen chimes as he observes all of the villager’s reaction. Ginro was a sobbing mess while spinning the shield, his nose practically running on snot as he continued.

“O-OH MY GOD ITS--!! IT’S SO AMAZING!! HE-HER SONG!! I-IT’S AM-AMAZINGLY AMAZING!!”

“Dude you’re choice of words.” Kohaku threw back as she watched Ginro slowing the record player to a stop. Ginro looks over towards Senku who was still looking down at the record. 

“In the past, was there a lot of amazing music like this Senku?”

Senku looked at him as he lets his question process through. He turns to look at the [ h/c ] girl beside him, making eye contact with her as she turned to look at him. They softly scoffed under their breath as they smiled at each other before Senku gives Ginro a firm nod and smirks.

“Yeah. And not just music. Games, Television, Movies, Manga. The world was full of the most interesting things. All this and much more..the forms of entertainment that we were able to create thanks to the advances of science. I’ll show it all to you guys too, after we defeat the Tsukasa Empire and bring all the statues in the world back to life!!”

The villagers had started to roar, a new source of energy and motivation running through them as they were excited with the new declaration they had heard. [ f/n ] couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she gently applauded towards Senku’s motivational speech before observing the new atmosphere, the smiles on everybody’s faces were vibrant. [ f/n ] looks over and notices that Senku and Gen were talking amongst themselves, making eye contact with the scientist when he suddenly turned around. [ f/n ] blinks as he turns back to look at Gen, the Mentalist chuckling behind his sleeve as Senku scoffs from his teasing behavior. 

But as [ f/n ] pulls her sight away from the duo and looks down at the glass record. She picks it up from the device and inspects the grooves of the glass. As she held the piece in her hands, Senku stepped away from Gen and stands right beside her while watching her inspect the record again.

“What, is there something wrong?”

“It’s just a theory but..it’s possible that Byakuya-san left one more message behind.”

[ f/n ] mutters as she turns the record over, placing it back down inside the machine. She calls Ginro to turn the shield again, the blonde composing himself and wiping his snot before turning the device again. As the record started to spin once more, [ f/n ] places the needle down as the others start to anticipate what they’re about to listen to next.

_“..it’s still recording, isn’t it?”_

_“You’re going to say more things, old man? Hurry up or else you won’t have any time to say what you want!”_

_“Alright, just give me space Shamil! Okay, okay. Before I wrap this in aluminum foil and encapsulate this, [ f/n ]-chan you’re there too right? You and Senku are practically inseparable so I’m sure Senku found a way to revive others, didn’t he?”_

[ f/n ]’s eyes widened as she blinked at the device, Senku also becoming shocked that another message was underneath the main side. The other villagers had already started to head back to their own homes as they watched the sun slowly starting to set, talking amongst themselves on the way back. Ginro continued to spin the device, a few selected others staying behind to listen to the record play.

_“I can’t tell you how much I adored watching you two grow up together. I have so much faith that with the two of you combined, I’m sure you can save every single person in this world. Don’t you ever give up now, alright?”_

As their small group of friends continued to listen, [ f/n ] couldn’t help but slightly scoff under her breath as she covered her mouth with her sleeve. She couldn’t contain her smile as she could feel her eyes started to sting, Senku observing her as the record continued to play. He reached out again, and without hesitation he held his hand over her small free hand. [ f/n ]’s hand opened up to his, returning the gesture and squeezing his hand.

_“I’m counting on you two. And do me a favor and watch over Senku, okay [ f/n ]-chan? Without you, I’m sure he’d be hopeless haha!”_

“That stupid old man..” Senku mutters underneath his breath and causes [ f/n ] to laugh in return. She was about to say something more but she immediately shut her mouth once she heard the mic rustle again.

_“But seriously; Senku, [ f/n ]-chan. Go and save the world. Whatever you do, I’ll always be proud of you.”_

“Thanks Byakuya-san..” [ f/n ] whispers in return, feeling Senku gently squeeze her hand. She turns to look at the white haired scientist, Senku already looking at her as their gazes meet. [ f/n ] gives him a smile as Senku was about to give one in return, however, the last part of his father’s voice was still going through the intercom.

_“Alright Byakuya-san, that should be good. Who were you even talking to anyways?”_

_“I was sending a quick message to my future daughter-in-law! Ooh! Let me tell you about her!-”_

Everyone looked at the record player as the record stopped playing, indicating that the audio has been cut. [ f/n ] and Senku gaze down at the device with a blank gaze before realization had started to kick in. [ f/n ] hid her face within her free hands, Senku turning his back so that he wasn’t facing her. Gen could only stand by and watch as the two quickly avoided eye contact, a sigh leaving his lips as he also shrugged his shoulders.

“Ah, what a turn of events.” Gen chuckles as he folds his hands within his sleeves.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh gosh its 4am & i hope my writing is alright LOL  
> oh well - here goers nothing!! <2

Night had fallen and everyone had already returned to their own homes. The sky was filled with stars, illuminating the darkness as they continued to shine from above. Senku was in his observatory, looking through his telescope with a small fire pit right beside him. Even though it wasn’t inflamed as it was before, the observatory was filled with warmth as he continued to stay up and gaze at the stars.

“If you want to come in, just come in already. What do you want?” Senku chimes as he continues to look through his telescope. Gen walks in and appears in front of the device, a grin on his lips.

“Long day, huh? I didn’t want to mention this to any of the others y’know; Kinro-chan, Ginro-chan, Kohaku-chan..”

“It seemed like it wasn’t the right time anyways.” Senku laughed, taking a step back to sit down on the ground. Gen smirks as he nods his head, folding his hands into his sleeves. He was about to say something, hesitating for a minute before staring at the white haired scientist.

“[ f/n ]-dono was someone I didn’t want to tell about this either. She’s already..done so much..”

“But what if participating with your plan turns out far better than you’d expect?”

Both men flinch from the sound of a new voice, turning back around to see the [ h/c ] haired girl holding a tray of bowls. She raises her brow at their direction, walking into the space and closing the door behind her with her free hand. Gen straightens out his posture and gives her a bow, [ f/n ] waving her hand slightly as she sat down on the space next to Senku. She handed the bowl of miso soup to him and turning to hand one to Gen as well. 

“We-Well..I mean..if you do end up a part of this plan, it’s possible that it could succeed even quicker than I had thought about.” 

“Then I don’t see a problem on telling me.”

Senku stayed quiet as he looked down at the soup she made him. Gen observed his behavior before he awkwardly cleared his throat and proceeded to explain his thought process on this new plan. Gen rises from his spot, holding up three fingers as he starts to explain.

“A pop quiz! The secret to Tsukasa’s Empire. What is the one unifying force responsible for the support and loyalty of his empire’s people?”

  1. Food
  2. Hot Chicks
  3. Tsukasa himself



“Kukuku it’s definitely C.” Senku chimes confidently, [ f/n ] nodding her head in agreement. Gen smiles as he also nods his head, softly cheering as they told him the right answer. 

“Tsukasa was originally the “World’s Strongest Primate High-Schooler”...so was famous and had charisma to begin with. In other words, to tear that foundation apart, we need someone even more famous than Tsukasa. With a super amount of charisma and charm..!”

Gen prepped himself as he took the position for slightly pinching his throat. Senku and [ f/n ] blinked as they watched him stand there in an odd position, before he suddenly started to speak.  _ “Hi!! I’m Lillian Weinber!!” _

Both Senku and [ f/n ] spit out air as they were completely caught off guard from the sudden change of his vocal pitch. [ f/n ] started to laugh amongst herself, hiding her giggle from behind her sleeves as Gen was composing himself again. 

“I can more or less do a woman’s voice, but it’s pretty obvious it’s being faked.”

“It’s spot on! Sounds just like one! Ten billion percent like a man’s voice faking a woman’s.”

“Right?~”

As the two men were sitting in front of each other, [ f/n ] thought over the plan once more as she was tapping her chin in the process. She looked down at the ground as she continued to think, the idea popping into her head.

“But since the sound is so distorted, the song on the record..could be like some sort of identification to the others!”

“As expected of you to figure it out, [ f/n ]-dono.”

“They’ll have no other choice but to believe that on the other side of the phone is the songstress, Lillian and that she’s still alive!”

Senku smirked at the idea, almost shifting into an evil like grin. [ f/n ] started to sweat slightly as she watched him laugh to himself, before he had suddenly and casually shifted to a neutral decision. However, with his casual transition, turns out that Chrome was listening to the conversation and had literally broke through the floor. All three of them had jumped from the sudden shout, Senku and Chrome immediately tending to patch up the whole on the floor. 

“You better walk him through the whole process from the very top, metalist.” Senku chimed, hammering down a few more times against the wooden planks. [ f/n ] chuckled softly as she stands right beside Gen, the mentalist letting out a sigh. Gen continues to explain to Chrome what the initial plan was, Senku and [ f/n ] sitting there quietly. However, [ f/n ] had turned to look at the starry night as Senku only gazed at her direction with an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. He shakes it off, turning to look at Chrome as he continues where Gen left off. 

“Don’t tell the other villagers about what we’ll be doing. We only need three of us from the former world to be the bad guys.”

Chrome slightly furrowed his brows as he looked at Senku and Gen, turning his gaze to look at [ f/n ] who was still looking out towards the night sky. Chrome starts to protest, making all three of them slightly jump from their spot. 

“The operations team is me! You’re going to need a technician to set up the massive cell phone at your destination, aren't you? Besides, If someone’s gonna get caught in this, it’s better me than you!”

They all looked at him with a shocked expression before [ f/n ] chuckles at his determined behavior. Senku and Gen followed, coming together to seal their deal and their plan. 

“So then the four of us will happily fall in the pits of hell and in exchange, we’ll save 7 billion people!”

The night continued as Gen excuses himself to get a little bit of rest for the night before they get onto their new plan. Chrome follows, bidding them goodnight before returning to his little room. [ f/n ] had taken the empty bowls and silently stacked them together, Senku doing the same while putting his equipment away. They silently finish their tasks as Senku closes the observatory to prevent any snow from entering. He turns to look at the [ h/c ] haired girl who was lingering by the door, observing his every move. 

“You don’t like this plan, do you..?”

Senku doesn’t say anything as he continues to busy himself with cleaning something before he moves over to close the cabinet. [ f/n ] watches him as she sighs, placing her things down to walk up to the white haired scientist. His back was facing her, her arms wrapping around his torso as she let her forehead rested against his shoulder blades. He slightly stiffened from the contact and looks down at her hands, a sigh escaping his lips. 

“It’s illogical to go back to Tsukasa. You think persuasion is going to work with that guy?”

“He’s not that bad of a person. He just needs a little guidance.”

“Really?  _ That _ guy? Just needs a little guidance you say? And what logical reasoning are you going to tell him?”

Senku asks as he looks over his shoulder to peer at the girl. [ f/n ] looks up from his back and looked into his red eyes, letting her chin rest on his shoulder. She gives him a small smile and leans to rest her cheek down. 

“Tsukasa had a little sister admitted into the hospital for critical brain damage. Maybe if I could convince him that you could possibly save his little sister then maybe there won’t be a war.”

Senku listened to her as he stops what he was doing, looking down at her arms wrapped around his torso. He only lets out a sigh as he closes his eyes for a moment, opening them and letting his hands rest on her arms. He gently pulls her arms away from his middle so he could turn around to face her, the [ h/c ] haired girl looking up to meet with red eyes. He leaned himself against the counter, [ f/n ] following as she gives his torso a soft squeeze. She could visibly see the blush on his cheeks, Senku doing his best to maintain his composure but was starting to fail miserably. He sighs as he looks away, almost a pout forming on his lips. 

“Don’t you think that’s stretching it? I still think having you stay here is more logical.”

“Are you speaking logically or through your cerebral cortex? Because right now, I’m seeing the ladder.”

[ f/n ] says confidently as she rested her chin on his chest, causing Senku to stiffen and a giggle to erupt from her lips. Senku only grunts as he covers his mouth slightly, doing his best to cover his embarrassment. As Senku was doing his best to recompose himself, [ f/n ] continued to gaze at his face and feeling a blush of her own forming on her cheeks. And suddenly by impulse, [ f/n ] slowly stands on her toes to gently press her lips against his cheek. Senku’s eyes widen as he turned back to look at her, [ f/n ] blinking in surprise. 

“Ah..sorry I just..” She started as she was going to pull herself away from him. However, Senku quickly grabbed a hold of her wrist and held her in place, looking directly at her. [ f/n ] looked at him with flustered cheeks, her eyes slightly wide as she did her best to avoid eye contact. Looking at her shy body language, Senku chuckles nervously and rubs the back of his neck with flustered cheeks. 

“Ye-Yeah you should be sorry. Because of you, there’s a ton of dopamine that’s suddenly affecting the air so..you should be sorry.”

Senku coughs as he slowly releases his hold on her wrist. His fingers slide down her wrist until they were holding her hand, [ f/n ] looking down at their connected hands. She couldn’t help but smile as she turns her hand to hold his, feeling him squeeze her hand. She kept her gaze on their hands, unaware of Senku’s eyes looking at her with a soft look. Senku takes a step and closes the gap as he rests his chin on top of her head, causing [ f/n ] to slightly look up at him. 

“You can go with Chrome to deliver the cellphone. But you aren’t going alone, you hear me?” [ f/n ] smiles as she takes a step to softly nuzzle herself into the crook of his neck, feeling Senku reach around and wrap his free arm around her. 

“When I come back, I’ll kiss your other cheek if you’d like.”

“I didn’t like it, what makes you think that?”

“Sure you didn’t, Senku.  _ Sure _ you didn’t.”

**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


Morning arose and the sun was starting to rise from the horizon. [ f/n ] yawned as she left her hut, stretching her arms upwards as she wipes away the stray tears. She looked towards Chrome’s hut, Kinro doing his best to remove the access snow that had piled up on the observatory. But all [ f/n ] could think about her small moment with Senku that night, causing her cheeks to heat up again. Gen had already woken up earlier because Senku had requested him to help assemble the phone that they were going to give to Taiju and Yuzuriha. [ f/n ] looked around and noticed Kohaku walking towards Chrome’s hut, reminding her of something. [ f/n ] calls Kohaku, catching her attention and walking towards her direction. 

“Yes, Sensei?”

“Come inside, I need to talk to you.” [ f/n ] smiles as she leads the girl inside, Kohaku pushing the curtain back to its original position. She looks at the interior, [ f/n ] rummaging through her things in the corner of the room.

“Take a seat, I’ll be right with you. Did you eat already?”

“No I haven’t..” Kohaku replies as she approaches a bed, her blue eyes blinking in confusion as she lets her hand rest on top of the pillow. The girl softly gasps as she presses both hands on it and nearly caresses the item as she takes a seat on the mattress. Kohaku could feel her eyes widen from the sudden softness, leaning back until she was laying flat on the mattress. After finding what she needed, [ f/n ] looks at her as Kohaku was cuddling the pillow to her chest and almost rolling around on top of the bed. 

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she walked passed her and starts to set up breakfast. After finding the right ingredients and assembling them together, she starts to cook the meal. [ f/n ] gives one quick glance over her shoulder and notices Kohaku practically passed out on the bed, still cuddling the pillow to her chest. [ f/n ] smiles as she finishes cooking, starting to plate the food and walking over towards her direction. [ f/n ] places the food down on a wooden stump, gently leaning over and tapping Kohaku awake. She stirs for a moment before she realizes the situation she was in, causing her to gasp in shock and quickly sit up.

“I-I’m so sorry, Sensei I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s okay, Kohaku. I would have definitely slept if I found a bed too.” 

Kohaku meekly apologizes as she sits up straighter, [ f/n ] taking a seat in front of her as she pushes the plate of food in front of her. As [ f/n ] gives thanks to her meal, both Kohaku and [ f/n ] start to eat in a comfortable silence. It was only a few moments in when Kohaku looks up from her meal and observes the [ h/c ] haired girl in front of her, the girl almost elegantly eating her food. 

“Did you need something from me, Sensei?”

[ f/n ] hummed as she continued to chew her food, taking a sip from her tea before putting her cup down. She looks up at the blonde girl and swallows her food, sighing contentedly before giving her a soft smile. “Kohaku, you’re well aware of what this new plan is right?”

“Senku is currently making a cellphone for the double agents in Tsukasa’s Empire.”

[ f/n ] nods as her smile doesn’t falter, the girl leaning to her right to reach something. She takes out her katana and presents it to Kohaku, the blonde girl sitting in front of her looking at her mentor with confusion. 

“Before, when I first arrived, I had sliced your katana because I asked you if I could use it to challenge Hyoga. So please take this an apology from me.”

“But Sensei..I can’t just..this is..”

“Please, just take it Kohaku. I made sure it’s sturdier than the last one and I also did my best to sharpen it as well. I may not be a talented craftsman like Kaseki, but I hope this would suffice.”

Kohaku stares at the sword in front of her, looking at [ f/n ] one last time before taking the weapon into her hands. She unseathes it, looking down at the polished weapon and looking up at [ f/n ] again. She gives her a warm smile as she puts it away, bowing her head towards her direction.

“Thank you so much, Sensei. I’ll make sure to treasure it and put it to good use.”

“You’re welcome, Kohaku. However, there’s one more thing that I wanted to talk to you about.” Kohaku looks up, tilting her head to the side. 

“It’s possible that Homura has been assigned to keep an eye out for us, in case we don’t do something suspicious enough for her to intervene.” Kohaku nods as she continues to listen to [ f/n ], a determined look on her face as she started to tap her chin with her finger. [ f/n ] quickly looks up and gazes into blue eyes, a smile forming on her lips again as she rose from her seat and finds an open spot on the ground. [ f/n ] waves her over, Kohaku rising from her spot to sit in front of her.

“I’ll tell you one thing, Kohaku. There’s a secret to how she moves so quickly through the trees.”

“She does?? And you know it, Sensei?”

“Well..to be honest, I’m a little rusty and I’m not the best with it. But the motions help me maneuver around.” [ f/n ] chuckles awkwardly as she scratches her cheek, Kohaku still sitting eagerly in front of her. 

“Listen Kohaku, the trick that Homura uses that enhances her speed is called Gymnastics.”

“Jim..huh?”

“Gymnastics was a form of sport that men and women competed back in my time. Its main focus was exceeding your body limits into a more flexible form..I think.”

[ f/n ] did her best to explain, thinking back to a few of her classmates who were gymnasts, trying to remember some of the forms they would practice. Kohaku did her best to understand, nodding her head but still trying to process what she was being told. [ f/n ] sat up straighter as she spread her legs in front of her and leaned down until her arms were almost laid flat on the ground. Kohaku’s eyes nearly popped out of her eye sockets as she witnessed her stretch, the shock visible on her facial features.

“Yo-You can reach that low, Sensei!? How!?”

“It took a lot of stretching and diligence. It’s been so long since I’ve done gymnast stretches that it’s kind of hurting me right now.” [ f/n ] chuckles nervously as she slowly inched her way back up, groaning in pain once she was able to pull her legs back in.

“To my understanding, gymnasts use their whole body to move, almost like swinging their body to gain momentum.”

“I see..so that means swinging your legs too?”

“Yes, exactly!” [ f/n ] smiles as she nods to Kohaku’s question, the blonde girl smiling after getting the gist of her understanding. Before they could speak any further, the animal hide was pulled back to see Gen waiting at the door. He gazed at the two women sitting on the ground, giving [ f/n ] a confused look before he gestured the direction behind him.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, [ f/n ]-dono. But Senku-chan is calling everyone to gather together before we make our way back to the Empire.”

“Okay, we’ll be right out.”

Gen nods as he pushes the curtain back, the [ h/c ] haired girl looking at Kohaku once more. [ f/n ] smiled in her direction and takes a hold of her hands, causing the girl to look at her again. “Gen and I will be guiding Chrome and Magma to Tsukasa’s Empire for this plan. If you could also do me the favor..”

“Don’t worry, Sensei. I’ll watch over Senku for you.”

Caught by surprise, the [ h/c ] haired girl looks at the person in front of her before giving her a shy smile with her blush visible on her cheeks. She meekly thanked her as she shakes her hands, Kohaku doing the same and returning the gesture with a smile. Both women laughed as they gathered their things before meeting up with Senku and others, [ f/n ] joining Magma, Chrome and Gen. Senku nods as he looks at the group in front of him, placing his hands on his hips. 

“Alright, with this four man group we should be able to infiltrate Tsukasa’s Empire and deliver that cellphone to Yuzuriha and Taiju!”

“But what are we going to do about Tsukasa’s watchdog; Homura?” Senku smirked as he looked at Kohaku, turning his head to look at the displayed glass beside him.

“When you run electrical currents through water, hydrogen and oxygen will bubble up. The gas mixture is known as detonating gas’. If you fill it up in a balloon made from a deer’s bladder or something..the resulting explosion will be worth piss all as far as force goes. But its sound should be stupidly loud. In other words, a sound bomb!”

Senku explained as him and Ginro had started to place them accordingly into the snow. As he was busy doing his own thing, [ f/n ] stood beside Gen and Chrome as they were looking over the materials they had. After doing a final check, [ f/n ] looked back towards Senku’s direction who was already hiding underneath some snow with Ginro. Taking a peek over his shoulder, he makes eye contact with her, giving her a reassuring grin. [ f/n ] smirks back as she nods her head, holding a grip onto her backpack.

“Alright, here we go! Preemptive attack! The final battle in our home country! Us vs. Tsukasa Empire! Stone wars begin now!!” And just like that, Ginro flicked the switch that set off the sound bombs. Senku quickly turns to look at the other group, ready to run.

“Now!! Go to the other side!!”

All four members quickly have a grasp on their held items as they started to make a run towards the opposite direction. Chrome quickly leads the way out of the forest, the sounds of the bombs starting to become distant as they were getting further and further from the village. After getting far enough, Magma takes a peek over his shoulder to see the lights emitting around the forest, a scowl on his face as he adjusted the weight of the baggage he was carrying.

“Why do we have to sneak out like this!?”

“Well..if we’re spotted, we’ll end up being tailed right?”

“If our super-duper painstakingly created top-secret cell phone strategy were to be revealed, that’d be the end of it!” Chrome comments as he agrees with Gen’s statement. A vein could almost be seen as Magma was about to burst out a complaint but [ f/n ] places a hand on his shoulder, causing him to stop whatever he was about to say.

“The enemy’s greatest fear is gun powder, so they’ll most likely want to check on what’s going on. So I’m sure..Homura-san will likely take the bait and run to where Senku is.”

She comments, looking over her shoulder as she witnesses the small lights that were shining in the forest. All three men turned to observe the scene for a moment before [ f/n ] faces forward and starts to lead the way again, adjusting her grip on her things.

“Well, let’s hurry and get a move on. Homura-san has probably caught on that there’s something going on by now.” [ f/n ] calls out as they all turned to face forward and follow the [ h/c ] haired girl. And just like what [ f/n ] had said, Homura had left her spot to pursue the strange noise. As she was zooming through the forest, Suika’s eyes widened as she was able to see a slight blur through the telescope.

“If Homura were to suddenly show herself, she should be between those hills and the area where the sound bombs were..”

“Suika barely spotted her! The shape of a human moving crazy fast..”

Just as Suika had exclaimed she saw her, Kohaku was quick enough to react. Both Suika and Kaseki jumped from the sudden reaction, watching Kohaku jump from branch to branch to catch up to the pink haired woman. As Homura was quick and set to check on the strange noise, she felt a sudden chill run down her spine as she only looked over her shoulder for a moment to catch a yellow blur. Curving back, Kohaku was shocked as she brought her sword back and clicked her tongue.

_ ‘Just like what Sensei said! This must be what they call gymnastics..’ _

But as Kohaku tried to reach for her again, Homura just seemed too quick for her. Homura also clicked her tongue, twisting her body and using the forest to try and lose Kohaku, but nothing was working. As they were dodging one another, faint footsteps could be heard from the distance as it came to a halt, catching the attention of both women. Senku ran up with a smug smirk on his face, throwing a cylinder object into the sky as he brought down some strange goggles.

“Makes you curious, doesn’t it? Feel free to stare until you're eyes pop out-- here’s a shocking and surprising scientific item, level 2: the flash bulb!!”

The item Senku threw had suddenly shined a bright light, blinding the two women in the air. Homura fell to the ground and was immediately caught by Senku, the villagers cheering in the back. Senku held her hands down, Homura looking over her shoulder as she sent him a wink. 

“Don’t start feeling me up now..”

“Heh. Keep in mind who you’re dealing with when you try to use lines like that.”

Homura huffed as she was brainstorming on what her next move would be if she wasn’t captured by Senku. But the woman blinked as she looked over her shoulder to see the scientist struggling on tying the rope around her wrists to keep her down. So, Homura was able to easily maneuver away from Senku, breaking free from his grasp. All of the villagers groaned as they screamed in shock, Ginro almost blending in with the snow.

“HE’S COMPLETELY USELESS!!!”

“That’s the power of the water flea for ya..”

Homura was able to move past all of the other villagers, Kinro failing to contribute and capture the pink haired woman. Kohaku’s father and Kinro look up towards her direction, a glare fixated on her as Homura softly lands on a tree branch to look down at them. She squints her eyes for a moment before she opened her mouth to speak.

“Kinro, Ginro, Kohaku, Suika, Kokuyo, Jasper, Turquoise, Mantle, Argo..” Homura mutters as the villagers that were called, stiffened from surprise. They all looked at her as they were confused to why she knew all of their names, Senku standing amongst the villagers as he also looked up at her.

“But where’s Chrome, Magma, Gen and [ f/n ]-dono..? You’re all here except the four of them and that’s unnatural.  _ Where are they?? _ ”

Homura had a menacing glare as she started to calculate the proper aspects to the missing people there. She looked out towards the forest, her eyes widened as she started to jump from one branch to another, Kohaku blinking rapidly before her vision has soon repaired itself. 

“It seems that she found out what our plan is. She’s probably running towards Chrome’s group right now.”

“What are we going to do!?” Ginro panicked, pressing his hands to his cheeks as Kohaku only looked at him with a done expression. Senku only smirks as he steps forward, opening another bag to take out another device. Placing the strange item on his shoulders, he turns on the light and amazes the villagers once more, he holds his hand out to watch his hand glow a different light.

“Let’s light the spark of our last weapon..shocking and surprising scientific item, level 3!!” Senku smirks as he points the light towards the tops of the trees. After seeing a trail of blue lights on the trees, Kohaku smirked as she takes a step forward with a grin on her lips. 

“They’ll lead us to her. With this, we can follow her!”

“Well, no time to lose so let’s get started!”

  
  


**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  
  


Chrome, [ f/n ], Gen and Magma slid down the snowy mountain, landing on their feet safely once they reached the bottom. But as Magma was going to reach the bottom as well, he nearly shook the ground underneath him when he landed. Chrome, [ f/n ] and Gen jumped from the sudden shake, the two other men cursing loudly while they were trying to catch their balance. But it wasn’t just Magma, the luggage he was carrying had started to rattle loudly, causing [ f/n ] and Chrome to look at each other before he approached the larger man.

“The noise was a bit unsettling so we should check on the phone..”

“Ain’t this no good? I mean for the vacuum tubes and stuff inside..?”

“I think we might need to do some spot checks on the way there..” As soon as Chrome assembled the last piece to the phone, the machine had started to make a loud ringing noise, causing all four of them to jump in surprise. Chrome was about to answer the phone, thinking it was a call from Senku. But Gen stopped him before he could do anything, a bead of sweat running down his temple as he composes himself again. 

“Receiving a call at this time can only mean one thing..”

“We’ve been spotted by Homura-san and she’s following us as we speak.” [ f/n ] comments, causing Gen to nod with agreement and the other two to jump with shock. 

“If we talk on the receiver, the fact that we’re carrying a cellphone will be exposed. So we just need to continue on further like we don’t have a clue.” Gen comments as he goes up to Magma to retrieve the ringer and starts to tap away. [ f/n ] starts to take the lead, pulling the hood closer to her face as she adjusted her bag. Looking back to look at the men behind her, she starts to tread through the snow with the others following close behind. 

Before they knew it, night had fallen and all four of them had to stop to rest for the night. Magma had just finished collecting the last of some fire wood before tossing them into the fire. [ f/n ] had given Magma a cup of tea, accepting the cup from her before taking a seat by the fire. Chrome looked down at his cup before looking up at the [ h/c ] haired girl who was sitting beside Gen. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it right after, feeling a bit unsure as he looked back at his reflection from his cup.

“Are you alright, Chrome?” [ f/n ] suddenly asks, causing Chrome to flinch a little bit. He looks up, making eye contact with [ e/c ] the girl smiling at him as she made herself comfortable. He looked away again, rethinking his question before asking.

“Why are you going to Tsukasa’s Empire, [ f/n ]? I know you’re super strong and stuff but there isn’t a reason for you to go, right?”

[ f/n ] sat quietly as she was processing Chrome’s question, Gen and Magma now reverting their attention to the girl in the group. She looked away from Chrome’s gaze for a moment before looking at him again and giving him a soft smile. Chrome feels a slight blush creep up to his cheeks, suddenly feeling embarrassed for asking her in the first place.

“There’s some unsettled business that I need to take care of over there. And if I don’t return anytime soon, then the Stone Wars would’ve happened sooner than planned.” [ f/n ] comments, her gaze looking into the fire. Chrome looked at the sad smile she held as she caressed the cup in her hands, not taking a single sip.

“So what, are you going to beat up this Tsukasa guy once you get there??” [ f/n ] blinks as she looks at Magma as he finishes his tea. Gen only sighs at the remark before the [ h/c ] giggles from it. What once was a sad smile became a confident smirk, making the other males give her a confused look.

“No, I can’t beat him alone. But..there is  _ someone  _ that could help make our plan go by faster.”

“And that is?”

[ f/n ] smiles as she explains her little plan, huddling the group closer as they listened to her. Chrome was listening intently as he was going to ask more questions but [ f/n ] decided to delay the rest of the plan until they get a full night’s rest. The scientist pouts as he helps put out the fire and huddles into his sleeping bag, Magma doing the same as he makes himself comfortable. [ f/n ] only sighed once more before allowing her head to rest on her pillow, curling herself further into her sleeping back. 

“[ f/n ]-dono, if I may..”

“Hm? Was is it, Gen?”

“Are you sure he’ll notice even if we just hold it up?” [ f/n ] looks over her shoulder to peer at him as Gen was barely peeking out from his sleeping bag as well. She turns to lay on her other side, giving him a small smile as well as she lets her cheek rest on the pillow.

“I’m sure it will work. He hasn’t let me down even once.”

Gen continues to look at her before he smiles back, nodding in agreement before he closed his eyes to get some rest. [ f/n ] follows the same action as she looks up at the stars, closing her eyes as she lets a soft sigh escaped her lips.

And what felt like a few minutes, the sun was starting to rise and had signaled them to continue their journey once more. Chrome had reassembled the cellphone to give to Magma so Gen could continue communicating with Senku. [ f/n ] pulled her hood over her face as she looked at the men behind her before moving forward. But as they were about to reach the front entrance towards Tsukasa’s Empire, their cellphone had started to receive beeps, causing the device to go off. There was a distant sound of leaves rustling underneath the snow, making [ f/n ] stop in her tracks.

“Homura-san is here.”

“A-Already!? Where is she!?”

“Don’t panic, Chrome-chan. I have a plan, just follow my lead.” Gen smirks as he walks over to Magma to take the cell phone from him. Before Gen gave the phone to Chrome, however, he turns to look at [ f/n ] to gently point up at the tree. Catching his plan, she quickly nodded with a smile before hiding her own things somewhere else and climbing to the top. From where she resided, [ f/n ] could see Homura hiding behind another tree as she witnesses Gen and Chrome’s exchange. 

“It's no good at all~ I can’t get a signal. Can you try putting the whole thing up a tree, Chrome-chan?”

“Got it!”

The pink haired girl was confused at first, not believing what she heard. But it wasn’t until Gen pulled out a microphone before her whole body tensed up. She quickly looks up towards the tree Chrome climbed, releasing herself from her coat to make her way over to the antenna. But after noticing that it was a complete fake, she gasped once she felt the tree wobble and knock her off the branch. Before she could hit the ground, [ f/n ] moves from her hiding spot to catch Homura in the air, the girl gasping out of relief.

“You’ve done well, Homura-san. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to end your mission here.”

Homura only groaned as the two made it safely to the ground, Senku and the other waiting at the bottom while Kohaku helped tie her up. Once they were finished, [ f/n ] sighed as she gathered her things and placed the hood over her head again. She makes eye contact with the white haired scientist before exchanging a discreet smile, Senku returning the gesture. [ f/n ] hands Homura to Kohaku, walking away with the others while they stared at the large base that was known as Tsukasa’s Empire. 

The group has finally made it to the front entrance of the base, their eyes focused on the large pile of statues beside them. [ f/n ] continued to look forward, even when Chrome, Gen and Magma were talking amongst themselves. It wasn’t until [ f/n ] had pulled her hood back to gaze at the entrance, her lips releasing a nervous sigh. She feels someone place their hand on her shoulder, making her look back.

“Everything will be alright, [ f/n ]. Trust us!”

Chrome grinned at her direction as all she did was smile back. Feeling some weight lifted from her shoulders, she gives him a nod before facing forward again. [ f/n ] adjusts her hair a bit as she sighs, running her hand through her hair as she tightens her dress from underneath her cloak. 

“Gen, you can go on ahead and lead Chrome and Magma towards the graveyard. I’ll take care of the people inside the base.”

“Yes, [ f/n ]-dono.”

“Oh and Chrome?” The male looks at her with a confused expression before [ f/n ] tosses something towards his direction. He was caught off guard at first, but after looking down at his hands, he notices the item he was carrying.

“If you’re ever in trouble, raise that in the air. The enemy will immediately cease fire.”

“Are you sure?” 

Chrome asks with uncertainty, looking at the [ h/c ] haired girl. She turns to look at him, giving him a soft smile before nodding her head. Hearing faint footsteps, [ f/n ] quickly faced forward before the other three had pressed themselves against the stone wall. 

“Quickly head to the graveyard. I’ll take care of things from here and cover you guys.” Following her lead, all three men leave to quickly hide somewhere else. [ f/n ] takes another breath before the guard that was watching the gate had noticed her. He stiffened in posture before greeting her meekly, a grin on his face as [ f/n ] acknowledges him.

“[ f/n ]-dono!! You’ve returned! It’s so great to have you back!”

“Thank you for guarding the front while I’ve been away, Oliver-san. Has Tsukasa been doing alright while I was away?”

“He looks like it. But once he sees you, I’m sure he’s going to be ecstatic.” 

Taking a glance over her shoulder, she makes eye contact with Gen before signaling him to go. Gen takes the chance, quickly guiding the other two away from the main gate to head towards another entrance. Chrome looks back while [ f/n ] disappears from their sight, running forward while holding his things.

“Is [ f/n ] going to be alright?”

“Don’t worry..sh-she’s highly respected here. No one will lay a hand on her. Besides..she can hold up a fight.” Gen replies as he adjusts his bag behind him. Chrome nods in agreement before facing forward and tightening his hold on his bag straps while he continues to follow the mentalist.

Returning back to [ f/n ] she was being greeted by the other villagers, smiles on their faces as they let her pass through but not before greeting her first. She smiles at all of the villagers staying there, waving at some while trying to say hello to the ones trying to speak with her. Someone was pushing through the crowd of people, her blonde braided pigtails swaying as she tried to pass through. But once she did, she looked at the girl in front of her with a grin on her lips.

“[ f-f/n ]-dono! You’re back!!” [ f/n ] blinks as she looked down at her friend, opening her arms and wrapping her into a hug. She’s caught off guard at first, [ f/n ] pulling back to give her a smile as she lets her hands rest on her shoulders.

“I’m back, Nikki. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Nikki could feel tears prick her eyes just a bit as she reaches forward to wrap her arms around her again. [ f/n ] laughs as she hugs her back, giving her a squeeze before letting go. [ f/n ] finally moves from her spot as Nikki is right by her side, the crowd dispersing to continue their own tasks. After finishing her part of greeting the people, [ f/n ] adjusts her coat as she makes her way towards the children’s area and feeling a smile grace her lips just the slightest. 

“I’m sure the kids will be excited to see you, [ f/n ]-dono.”

“To be honest, I kind of miss all of them. So I hope that they didn’t grow  _ too  _ much without me.” [ f/n ] chuckles as she could see their place up ahead. Nikki walked alongside her as she took a step forward to open the doors for her, the [ h/c ] haired girl thanking her before walking in. Hearing the familiar sound of the door, the children turn their heads to see who was entering but completely stopped what they were doing once they saw [ f/n ] walk in.

“[ f/n ]-nee!!”

“[ f/n ]-nee, you’re back!!” 

“I’m home. I’m sorry I took so long..” [ f/n ] chuckles as all of the children got up to give her a hug. She sits on the ground, hugging every single one of them before the youngest hugs her tightly with tears in his eyes. The other kids had started to notice the tears, causing a domino effect as the other children started to sniffle in the process.

“A-Ah wait, there’s no ne-need to cry!! I’m here now!”

“Tsukasa-nee sa-said..that you we-were busy..he said yo-you’d come back..But you were gone..for so long..” 

The youngest one cried, rubbing his face in front of her cloak. [ f/n ] looked down at him before the other children had started to sit closer to her, doing their best to wipe their tears. The girl panicked for a little bit before an idea struck her, reaching out to rest her hand on the youngest one’s head. 

“I know..and I’m sorry for making you wait for me for this long..but let me make it up to you? I did promise I will sing to you guys when I came back, right?”

After hearing the proposition, the children gasped as they looked up at her, innocent and hopeful eyes looking back at [ e/c ]. [ f/n ] chuckles as she starts to hum a tune, singing the words softly as the children started to listen. As the girl continued to sing, her voice was reverberating around the room and leaving to let the other villagers hear her melody. 

But there was one person in particular who was entranced, his eyes slightly wide as soon as he entered the children’s area. He stood nearby, his arms at his sides as Tsukasa witnessed all of the children were huddled by her. Finally opening her eyes, she looked down at her lap to see the children huddled by her and making her chuckle. 

“Are you going to help me with the kids, or are you going to just stand there?” Tsukasa looks up to find her, watching her place the youngest one down inside his makeshift bed. Tsukasa could feel a blush slowly rise from his neck to his cheeks, causing him to help her out by placing these kids to bed. 

[ f/n ] gently let her fingers caress against the youngest child’s cheeks, the smile on his face causing [ f/n ] to smile. The girl feels a presence behind her as Tsukasa doesn’t say much but does lead the way. Noticing that he was waiting for you by the door, [ f/n ] chuckling as she starts to leave Nikki’s side. But before she speaks, she turns to look at Nikki who blinks from the sudden eye contact.

“They’ll be waiting for you.” [ f/n ] whispers to Nikki, blinking in confusion as she continued to watch [ f/n ] leave to be right beside Tsukasa. She starts some small talk with him before they fully leave the nursery home, Tsukasa following her out until he realized they were making their way back to his house. Taking a look at the exterior, Tsukasa welcomes her in as [ f/n ] slowly walks inside to observe the inside of the house. But as she was admiring the little things, Tsukasa had closed the door and carefully walked over to you before reaching out and grabbing a piece of her hair. [ f/n ] quickly looks back and watches the action, causing her to blush immensely during this type of situation. 

“So..[ f/n ]. What are you doing back in the village, hm?”


	19. Chapter 19

*  
[ f/n ] looked at the tall man as she did her best to maintain eye contact. However, Tsukasa had the dominant vibe that was starting to waver [ f/n ]’s gaze. He placed the ends of her hair against his lips, still staring her down as a massive blush coated her cheeks. 

“Li-Listen..Shishio-kun..”

“Oh..going back to my last name? I thought it was irrelevant.”

[ f/n ] swallowed her saliva nervously as she watched him take a bold step forward, the distance getting smaller and smaller. 

“I’m listening, [ f/n ]. What is it that you want to tell me?”

Tsukasa looks down at her, letting go of her hair and letting his finger gently brush against her cheek. [ f/n ] did her best to hold her gaze but as soon as he reached out to caress her cheek, Tsukasa leaned forward and softly blew air into her ear. Her mouth was open ajar as Tsukasa’s free hand moved up to run his thumb over her lips, pulling back to make eye contact with her.

“You’ve been away for so long, how about I help you release some tension from your body, yes?”

As she was about to respond with her voice, Tsukasa takes a step further and kisses her lips, catching her off guard. He presses her against the wall behind her, [ f/n ] groaning from the sudden action as her other hand grips onto his clothing. Her knees were starting to give out on her, the heat on her cheeks prominent as she didn’t know what to hold onto. Luckily for her, Tsukasa was holding her up as he wrapped his arm around her waist while his forearm was pressed against the wall behind her. [ f/n ] finally finds the strength to pull away from the kiss so she can breathe, Tsukasa not stopping there as he leans forward to press a few kisses to her exposed collarbone. He runs his nose along her neck before pressing himself further against her. He slips his right leg in between her legs, making [ f/n ] gasp and tilt her head back. She started to feel herself succumb to his antics, her legs giving out as her body slumped against his. Tsukasa caught her and laid her down, nibbling on her neck as a hesitant moan escaped her lips. Her breaths were quick as Tsukasa’s hands were starting to get to work, his free hand running along her left leg. 

[ f/n ] had clenched the back of Tsukasa’s clothing, her cheeks flustered as she could start to feel something pressing against her legs. She tilted her head back as her eyes snapped open, tears forming in her eyes as the image of Senku had flashed in her mind. 

‘If you could, would you wait for me..?’

‘Come on, [ f/n ]! This is for Senku!’

Snapping some sense into herself, she did her best to look at the man on top of her before looking at her surroundings. Before Tsukasa had started to become busy with her clothes, she lifted her right leg and pushed against the wall with all her might to flip them over. Tsukasa was caught by surprise once he was pushed into his back, [ f/n ] sitting on top of him with a dagger pointing at his neck. He looks at her, the surprise written on his face as her breath was heaving from their previous event. Looking up from fixing her tie, she glared at him with her eyes slightly stinging from the feeling of tears forming.   
*

“I’m sorry Tsukasa..but I can’t..I can’t keep this act up anymore..”

Tsukasa continued to stare at her, his shock finally subsiding as he watched her hands slightly trembling. He looked at her face as he boldly reached up to caress her cheek, a tear falling freely as he brushed it away with his thumb. 

“So you’ve finally chosen your path then..”

“...” After hearing no response, Tsukasa uses his other hand to place it on top of her hand that was holding the weapon. He starts to guide it down while sitting up in the process, [ f/n ]’s head hung slightly low as she watched him lower her weapon. 

“Tsukasa..at one point I believed that your intentions were true..that your confession and love were real. But..I can’t forgive you..not yet at least because..”

“‘Because..?’”

“..you killed Senku. And I can never forgive you for that..” [ f/n ] softly cried as she did her best to glare at him. However, Tsukasa only furrowed his brows as his eyes clashed with [ e/c ]. As he was about to turn away, [ f/n ] dropped the dagger and held his face in her hands, making him look at her direction again. 

“But..there is one way..”

“And that is..?”

“Listen to what Senku has to say.” After she had finished her sentence, it was obvious that he didn’t like the idea from the scowl forming on his lips.

“Just hear me out! The revival fluid is also a healing agent. Well, not really but! It restructures the original DNA, taking it out from its stone form before reforming back to its original form! That means that whatever previous injury you had before the petrification beam struck, it can be restored.”

Tsukasa was looking away for a moment before [ f/n ] hesitantly reached out and held his face in her hands. He looks back at her again, noticing the worry she expressed before a troubled sigh escapes his lips. She looked at him as they sat in silence, Tsukasa reaching forward and holding her elbows while caressing her skin. 

“I know that you don’t want to..but this can help save lives. It can help save Mirai..”

“And you know that for sure?”

“I did some research and did a few experiments while you were gone. Although I’ve only done the experiments on sparrows, the results seemed to be the same no matter what. ” [ f/n ] looked away, starting to mumble to herself, Tsukasa observing her as he couldn’t prevent himself from smiling. In that moment, he wrapped his arms around her and caught her by surprise from the sudden hug. She blinks as she feels him nuzzle himself into the crook of her neck, her arms wrapping around his back.

“I’m sorry..I’m sorry for everything.” [ f/n ] continued to hold Tsukasa, running her hand along his back to soothe him. She didn’t speak right away, allowing him to speak what he needed to say as she rests her cheek on his shoulder.

“Forcing you away from exploring the world and lying to you..I’m sorry for that.”

“Tsukasa..” [ f/n ] whispered as she pulled away to look at the man. He held a sollem expression as he looked into her [ e/c ] colored eyes, the girl in his arms reaching forward to brush some hair away from his face.

“To be honest..I was not expecting an apology this quick.” [ f/n ] laughed as she smiled at him. Tsukasa could feel his heart beating twice as fast and his cheeks feeling a bit warmer. But once her little chuckle had stopped, so did her thumb that was stroking his cheek.

“And even for everything that you’ve done to keep me safe in this new world we are living in, you did what you could. Thank you..”

[ f/n ] smiles as she leans forward to hug him once more. Tsukasa looks down at her before wrapping his arms around her body, closing his eyes for a moment to bask in the comfortable silence between the two. He stays silent for a moment before tightening his hold on her, bringing her closer. 

“When Senku comes, I will talk to him. If what you are saying is true..then I’ll do it. But until then..please stay here for a bit longer..” [ f/n ]’s eyes widened as she couldn’t help but smile and tighten her hold on him as well. She nuzzles into his shoulder, tears slightly forming in her eyes as she couldn’t stop herself from smiling with relief. 

“Thank you..”

She says as she softly grips the back of his clothing. As the two continued to hold each other while starting to talk amongst themselves, both parties were unaware of the unwanted guest that was standing in the shadows with his weapon in hand. He peeked through the door, his other hand tightening his grip on his weapon while he was gritting his teeth. Turning away to walk back to his own place, he holds his spear close to him as he turns to look at Homura standing nearby. She quickly returns to his side, the pink haired woman looking up at him and waiting for his next orders.

“New plan..there might just be another target we must go after now.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the moment [ f/n ] had shared with Tsukasa, she then went on and explained what was going to happen in the time being. However, as they were still talking, someone had walked in to tell Tsukasa some urgent news. The man walked in and immediately blushed in embarrassment, quickly leaving the room all flustered. Both [ f/n ] and Tsukasa looked at the door in confusion before Tsukasa had realized why. He cleared his throat and looked at [ f/n ], gently patting the small of her back.

“I’m not complaining about how we are now, but I think we should go see what the ruckus is all about.”

The [ h/c ] haired girl blinked in confusion at first before she registered her current sitting position. She was still sitting on top of Tsukasa’s lap, her dress partially undone and their hair slightly ruffled from their previous attempt. [ f/n ] gasped as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, quickly doing her best to fix her attire. Tsukasa chuckles as he helps her out by pushing her hair away from her face, making [ f/n ] whine from the sudden help. 

“We’re going to have to put up an act in front of the others. Despite that I have your trust, the others might be suspicious..” [ f/n ] mumbles to herself as she starts to stand from her position. She gently holds her chin as she continues to think, Tsukasa adjusting his own cloak while looking at the [ h/c ] haired girl in front of him. Thinking to himself, he looks away for a moment before watching the girl walk around in circles. He softly clears his throat to catch her attention, which she turns to look at the tall man.

“Once I talk to Senku about the formula..and he helps revive Mirai, could I confess to you properly?” [ f/n ] blinks as she looks up at him with some shock. But as Tsukasa returns her gaze, she couldn’t help but smile as she allows her cheeks to fluster just for a bit.

“Yes you can..” Tsukasa watches her as [ f/n ] returns to his side, his arm hugging her close as he places a soft kiss on top of her head. Allowing the gesture, [ f/n ] lets Tsukasa lead the way towards the main room of the cave. As the duo were walking side by side, people that were considered Tsukasa’s minions had bowed once they were passing by. Hyoga was waiting by Tsukasa’s throne, his spear right by his side as he gave him a slight bow towards his direction. But for a split moment, he made eye contact with [ e/c ] colored eyes and nearly shivered from the cold expression she was expressing. 

“Long time no see, Hyoga-kun..”

“Likewise..[ f/n ]-dono..”

Distant footsteps were heard as Chrome had suddenly entered the picture. He stood before everybody in shock, looking over towards the faces before his eyes landed on [ f/n ] who was currently in Tsukasa’s arms. He opened his mouth to say something but [ f/n ] instantly glared, causing him to shut his mouth immediately. But all Chrome does is smile stiffly as he straightens himself out before giving an introduction.

“Pleased to finally make your acquaintance, Tsukasa. My name is Chrome. A scientist of Ishigami Village.”

[ f/n ] stares at him while she pushes herself away from Tsukasa and approaches the man. Chrome looks at her dead in the eye before he swallows his saliva, a cold sweat running down his brow. In an instant, she grabs his shoulder and pushes him down to his knees as he quickly kneels in front of her. Caught by surprise, he was about to look up at her before she pushed her head down so that he was looking down at the ground.

“Despite where you are from..it’s custom to kneel before Tsukasa. Isn’t that right?” She starts to ask, turning her attention towards Tsukasa’s trusted men within the same room. They quickly followed with a bow, answering with a loud shout.

“Yes, [ f/n ]-dono!!” [ f/n ] huffs as she takes a step back from Chrome to turn to look back at Tsukasa. The taller male looks at her before she fixes her attire and starts to speak to change the subject.

“I’m going to check on the children. If you need me, then you’ll know where I’ll be.”

Tsukasa looks at her before [ f/n ] starts to walk away, the men still bowing. He had turned to look at Hyoga and was about to comment on following her, but [ f/n ] stops in her tracks to look over her shoulder.

“And don’t bother sending Hyoga-kun to follow. I won’t be long, I promise.” [ f/n ] smiles before her eyes avert towards the archer that was still bowing his head towards her direction. She mutters something under her breath before she finally leaves the cave, her hair flowing behind her as she makes her way towards Senku’s ‘grave’.

[ f/n ] continues to stand tall as she was walking past a few of the villagers, greeting them once they greeted her. And as she could see the familiar place in view, she walked past the large stone overpass and looked over to see who was there. Taiju and Yuzuriha were hunched over Senku’s grave, as well as Nikki who was talking to Yuzuriha. Nikki feels a presence and immediately stands to her feet, bowing towards [ f/n ]’s direction. She was about to greet her but [ f/n ] quickly raises her hand to hold her greeting. 

“Ukyo-kun found Chrome and took him to Tsukasa.”

“Wh-What?! Really?”

“Yes, but don’t worry. He’s in good hands.”

“Wait so..Ukyo-kun is working for you?”

[ f/n ] turns to look at Taiju who held a confused yet shocked expression. She gives him an awkward smile before waving her hand in front of her, a flustered blush coating her cheeks. 

“I-I wouldn’t say that he’s working for me. We just share the same beliefs as Senku.”

A chuckle was heard over the speaker, everyone turning their attention towards the device buried in the ground. [ f/n ] decided to take a seat next to Yuzuriha, having a better look towards the buried device. There was a slight buzz noise from their end but Senku had started to speak once he was done chuckling.

“As expected of Tsukasa’s right hand man, amirite?”

“Despite having that title, that’s merely nothing. Other than that; did Magma return safely?”

“Yes he did, [ f/n ]-dono. Unfortunately he had to leave Chrome behind to do so.” [ f/n ] laughs as she calms herself down before she loses her composure. Yuzuriha, Taiju and Nikki looked at her with a confused expression, waiting for her to explain.

“Yes, I saw him just now. I have to apologize for putting up that act though.”

“Regardless, let’s continue on with this plan. The gorilla over here was going to infiltrate the empire in hopes to rescue Chrome.”

“Stop calling me a gorilla!!”

“Anyways, we’ll be there within the next 24 hours to infiltrate the cave. Just be safe and don’t do anything stupid.”

“Aye, captain.” [ f/n ] laughs as she pretends to salute towards the phone. Senku chuckles on the other end before he disconnects the call, The distant buzzing noise stopping. [ f/n ] softly smiles before she straightens out her posture, noticing that someone was staring at her. She looks back to glance at her friends, noticing that all of them were staring at her with a shocked expression. [ f/n ] blinks before her cheeks blossom with embarrassment, coughing into her hand as she abruptly stands from her spot.

“O-Okay, you heard him! He’s going to be here in 24 hours so we should all work together and keep up the plan!”

“Right!”

“Alright..I will see you all soon then, I’m going to head back to check on the children.” [ f/n ] mentions as she points over her shoulder. Taiju and Yuzuriha nod as they wave towards her direction, Nikki bowing her head until she has finally left. Yuzuriha watches her childhood friend walk away, a smile still etched on her lips. Taiju takes a moment to glance at her, looking at her with a confused expression and calling out her name to get her attention.

“Is everything okay, Yuzuriha? Why are you smiling like that?”

“It’s nothing much..but it makes me happy that we get to see [ f/n ]-chan like this.”

“Hm? Like what?”

“She’s in love, Taiju-kun. She’s in love.” Nikki replies with her arms crossed. Yuzuriha quickly agrees as Taiju looks between the two women before he just looks even more confused than before. The girls only sigh as they shrugged their shoulders and left to seek out their next task to help with Senku’s plan. 

After speaking with Senku over the phone, [ f/n ] eventually returned to visit the children who were waiting for her. The sun was starting to set, the children running towards the daycare center as they were coming back from the river bank. She was smiling as the children were laughing amongst themselves, the youngest of them was holding the girl’s hand while walking beside her. [ f/n ] calls out to the other children until she sees a familiar figure leaning against the makeshift gate. The children in front of her stop and greet Tsukasa, who in return smiles at them and gently pats their head. Tsukasa looks down at them before opening the gate and leading the remaining others inside. He turns to look at the [ h/c ] haired girl, reaching out to graze his hand against the hand holding the youngest child.

“I’ll help you tuck them into bed.”

“Okay, thank you..”

[ f/n ] responds sheepishly before she smiles up at him shyly. Tsukasa takes the youngest one into his arms, carrying them inside as [ f/n ] walks in to close the gate behind her. And not long after Tsukasa tucks them in, [ f/n ] goes to each of the children to caress their cheek and kiss their forehead. After finally moving to the youngest child, [ f/n ] kisses their forehead as they smile before closing their eyes.

“Goodnight, mama..”

[ f/n ] flinches as she pulls back gently, her eyes staring at the child before she feels someone graze her hand again. Looking to her left, Tsukasa nudges a finger to graze her hand again before opening his hand to her. Gazing down at the small gesture, she places her hand over his as he gently encases her smaller hand. 

“Come on, let’s get some rest.” Tsukasa encouraged as he nudged his head towards the exit. [ f/n ] decides to follow him out, the quiet atmosphere and the sounds of nature filling their ears. Their footsteps were quiet as they made it back to Tsukasa’s home, the tall man allowing [ f/n ] to enter first while he left to grab her a blanket. She makes herself comfortable as she looks out the window, gazing up towards the moon as it was shining from above. As her gaze was fixated on the moon, Tsukasa came up from behind to drape the blanket over her shoulders. Looking over towards his direction, he takes a seat beside her and gazes at the moon as well. 

“You know, when I first saw you..you were gazing out the window like this too.”

“What? Really..? When was that?”

Tsukasa’s cheeks flush with embarrassment as he rubs the back of his neck. [ f/n ] shifts her gaze to look at the tall male, a smile gracing her lips and causing Tsukasa to blush once more. 

“I was visiting my sister at the time and when I left to get something for her, I saw you in the lobby. You had a book on your lap too.”

He closes his eyes as he remembers the scene clearly, the image of a young looking girl with [ h/c ] colored hair just past her shoulders. As he opens his eyes to make eye contact with her, [ f/n ]’s eyes widen before she turns away with an embarrassed blush. She wraps herself with the blanket he gave her and flopped on his bed, doing her best to cover the embarrassment. Tsukasa blinked as he chuckled from the display, going around to lay on the open spot and facing the little lump. 

“No matter what happens [ f/n ], just know that I will always protect you.” The little lump stopped moving and [ f/n ] revealed herself from underneath. She looks at the person laying next to her and gives him a smile while resting her cheek on her forearms. 

“Even after all this time, lying to you and everything? You’re still willing to protect me?”

[ f/n ] asked, raising a brow in question. Tsukasa continued to look at her before reaching out and gently caressing her cheek, causing her to blush just the slightest.

“Although we have different beliefs, you were doing it to survive. And I can’t blame you for that.”

As the [ h/c ] haired girl listened to his reason, she closed her eyes to bask within his gentle touch. Moving closer to keep herself warm, she lets her forehead rest on his chest as Tsukasa lays his arm over her waist. She whispers a soft ‘Thank you’ before she slips off to sleep, Tsukasa looking down and caressing her cheek once more. She started to snore softly, her body rising in a pattern while still in the same position. Tsukasa continues to play with her hair before tucking it behind her ear and running his thumb along her cheekbone. 

“No matter what..” He whispers before closing his own eyes to get some shut eye. His hold tightens around her, after feeling a slight chill but that goes nearly unnoticed as an unknown figure finally retreats back to their own home. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Morning arose and Tsukasa was the first to wake up. He groans before looking around to see [ f/n ] laying on her other side, still snoozing away. He blinks away the sleep before rubbing his eyes tiredly and getting up to stretch. Hearing his body crack from all the stretching, he sighs with satisfaction before turning back to look at the sleeping [ h/c ] haired girl. He leans down to place a kiss on her temple before pulling away and grabbing his coat before taking his leave.

After a few more minutes of silence, [ f/n ] opens her eyes and looks around the room before waiting for a few more seconds before getting out of bed. She quickly folds the blanket she used and places it on top of the makeshift pillow, fixing her attire as best as she could. As she was brushing her fingers through her hair, she looked out the same door Tsukasa left out of and stood there for a moment. Letting her hand brush her hair and tucking it behind her ear, she couldn’t help but smile before grabbing tightening the wrap that held her hair together. She takes a quick look around the room before her eyes lay on something sticking out from behind the makeshift bed. 

She tilts her head with confusion before walking over to it and moving the bed aside. [ f/n ] gasps softly as she looks at her first prototypes of weapons, her quiver and bow still intact. She scoffs as she gathers her belongings, a smirk on her lips as she places her bow over her shoulders and grabs her quiver. 

“Thank you Tsukasa..” She whispers underneath her breath, as she adjusts her weapons. After tightly wrapping the quiver to her shoulder, she grabs her bo staff and leaves his home. She starts running towards the children’s area, having enough speed to jump over the gate and land safely on the other side. The children were still asleep but the eldest had stirred and rose from his bed while rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“[ f/n ]-nee..?”

“Sorry for waking you up so early..but we’re going to have to move somewhere else, okay? Can you help me wake up the others?” [ f/n ] smiles as she softly brushes the boy’s hair. The boy nods sleepily before yawning and getting up to wake the others. [ f/n ] moves to take the youngest of them and carry him in her arms. As she turned to look towards the sleepy children, a loud and muffled boom was heard in the distance. The ground shook just a bit before the children quickly gathered close to her.

“Come on, quickly! You’re all just going to go stay with Seiko-san for a little bit okay? Follow me and stay together!”

“O-Okay!” 

The children listened as they all started to link hands, [ f/n ] reaching out and taking a hold of the rest of them. She starts to jog towards the exit, opening the gate to have them pass through and quickly shutting it once all of them are out. She starts to usher them a bit quicker as they make it towards another home, a woman with brown hair and holding a basket with fruit in it.

“Seiko-san! Please watch over the children! There’s an intruder so please stay inside until it’s safe to leave.”

“Ok-Okay! Please be safe, [ f/n ]-dono..” Seiko nods firmly before ushering the children inside. The eldest of the children looks back at [ f/n ], making eye contact with her. She gives him a smile before walking over to ruffle his hair. He groans and looks up at her with a slightly annoyed look but is greeted when [ f/n ] kisses him on the forehead. The boy blinks before he blushes even more, covering his forehead with his hands. 

“Don’t worry too much, I’ll be back.” [ f/n ] replied before she takes a few steps back before heading towards the battlefield. Clenching her bo staff tightly, she feels the wind rush pass her as she makes a quick stop towards Senku’s ‘grave’. And just as she was about to pass the large boulders, she could see a mess of clumped up wires and crushed metal. 

[ f/n ] gasped as she took a closer look, brushing her hand against the device before clenching her jaw. Looking over the edge, she had a perfect view of the battle field in front of her and a clear view that Senku’s team was winning against Tsukasa’s men. She smiles for a moment before she felt a cold chill running down her spine. Looking around, she can see the two monstrous beasts starting to head their way, a weapon about to be thrown. She glares at Hyoga’s throwing stance before he has taken a step forward to gain momentum.

“Oh no you don’t..” 

[ f/n ] whispers before she takes out her bow and takes an arrow, taking aim towards the thrown weapon. Inhaling to herself, she watches it pass a few others before its pathway was directly aimed at Senku. Taking the shot, she lets the arrow go and holds her position for a moment before quickly moving elsewhere that’s closer towards the ground. 

Ukyo sweats as he jumps in front of Senku and the others, nearly toppling over them as he was prepared to take on an injury. But as he feels nothing and only the sound of a clang reverberates through the air, he opens his eyes to see the larger weapon pierced into the ground behind them while an arrow melded into the ground not long before it. Ukyo turns back to look at the arrow, a gasp escaping his lips as he scurries onto his feet to grab it.

“She’s here..”

The villagers had started to cower closer towards the cave, Hyoga and Tsukasa showing themselves in front of the enemy. Hyoga quickly dumps the other telephone device in front of everyone, their eyes shaken with fear and betrayal when they realize that they were deceived. Tsukasa looks down at the white haired male in front of him, his teeth grit with anticipation as he wipes some blood and dirt away from the corner of his mouth. 

“Hey Senku..It’s been a long long battle. It’s been about a year since then, hasn’t it? How lamentable that, for a second time, I should have to end your life with these hands.”

“Heh, you’re so cold. Even though I crawled my way out of hell just for our little rendezvous. With the insanely thin rope of science that is..!”

The two continued to stare each other down, Senku having his hands on his hips while Tsukasa stood before him while clenching his weapon. While both sides were occupied, [ f/n ] had finally made it down the mountain and was able to view the scene from a tree. She quickly caught her breath, doing her best to control it as she observed the scene around her. She couldn’t quite hear what was going on, but looking at the body language from the people in front of her - the fight was just about to begin. 

[ f/n ] takes her bo staff and takes an arrow while detaching the arrowhead from it. Using the cloth to wrap the sharp rock around the staff, she tosses the dull arrow before she slightly flinches from Kohaku’s sudden charge. [ f/n ] smirks at her tenacity before all hell broke loose and the fight had started. Senku and Chrome quickly made a run towards the cave of miracles, while the Battle Team had started to charge against Tsukasa and Hyoga. 

However, it wasn’t long for the battle team to be swept off their feet. Hyoga was quick to use his spear to knock everyone down, Tsukasa jumping over it with ease. [ f/n ] turns to look and finds Nikki and the other Ishigami villagers holding a device to take Tsukasa down, but is shaken when they witness Tsukasa throwing his weapon towards their way. Drawing her bow, she quickly takes out an arrow and aims towards the weapon. The arrow zoomed past everybody and hit Tsukasa’s weapon, changing it’s direction and hitting the ground next to them. 

[ f/n ] finally jumps down on the tree and grabs the abandoned shield on the ground, holding onto it as she makes quick movements towards Kohaku’s way. Before Hyoga could strike, his spear was met with a wooden shield and the sharp end of the head stuck to the device. Hyoga grunted as he yanked his weapon out from the shield, [ f/n ] dropping it on the ground by her feet.

“So you finally decide to join the battle, huh?”

“Se-Sensei!!”

“Sorry for making you wait. Let’s properly have that battle, shall we?”

[ f/n ] smirks as she puts some of her weight on her no staff. Hyoga’s posture straightens, repositioning his weapon as [ f/n ] takes on a defensive stance. 

“Kohaku, go help Nikki and the others out. I’ll take it from here.”

“Good luck, Sensei!!” 

Kohaku looks between the two before taking a step back and running to find Nikki. Hyoga and [ f/n ] stood in silence as they started each other, weapons in hand as the breeze was passing through. The others had noticed the intense battle, whispering amongst themselves as they decided to take cover. 

“[ f/n ]-dono is here? And she’s battling Hyoga?”

“Does that mean she’s on the other team?”

“Hurry, take cover!”

[ f/n ]’s grip tightened around her bo staff as Hyoga took his defensive stance as well, his cape pushed back to reveal his form. 

“Last person standing?”

“Agreed.”

[ f/n ] smirks as she reaches her hand out to taunt Hyoga. He bows his head slight before making the first move and charging towards her direction. He goes and starts to rapidly twist his spear, [ f/n ] defensively blocking any jabs with her bo staff. Once he had pulled away to recollect himself, that’s when [ f/n ] took her chance and strike. She holds her staff with both of her hands before she starts to make jabs at Hyoga, who easily dodged her attacks. However, as she was making her move, she was doing her best to reach for his weapon. And as soon as she got close, she instantly tucked her bo staff and grabbed Hyoga’s spear, instantly catching him by surprise. 

She takes a hold of it and kicks Hyoga’s chest, grunting as he is pushed away while [ f/n ] stands with both weapons. She takes Hyoga’s spear and breaks it in half with her foot, dropping the contents in front of him. Hyoga’s brows crease further as he’s starting to glare at the [ h/c ] haired girl who only placed her hand on her hips. 

“I know that you and Tsukasa share the same beliefs, but it’s possible to succeed without the murdering. And I believe after witnessing Senku’s inventions, you know it’s definitely possible.”

[ f/n ] tries to reason, taking a step forward and extending her hand towards him. Hyoga looks down at her before looking at her extended hand. He doesn’t say anything until he turns towards one of the soldiers and extends his hand towards him. 

“Grab me the spare one.”

The man quickly grabs the spare and hands it to him, Hyoga snatching it from his hands. The man quickly scurries away to hide with the rest of his friends, Hyoga once again armed. [ f/n ] glares at him for a moment before reaching to grab her staff, taking the form of her stance again. 

“I respected you enough to follow you and Tsukasa all this time. However, wouldn't it be easier for both of us that the non-talented party should just be terminated? Surely, you can only hide behind Tsukasa for so long.”

She glares even harder as she watches Hyoga taunt her in return, going back to his defensive stance. [ f/n ] decides to take the taunt and charge at him, starting to jab towards his direction again. But as Hyoga was about to transition to close combat to catch her off guard, an explosion erupted not too far from the trees they were standing by. Both parties stopped to witness the growing fire on the large tree, their eyes wide as Senku, Gen and Chrome exited the cave of miracles. Tsukasa looks at Senku’s group, lowering his weapon as they stare at each other down. 

“To think you would make something as destructive as dynamite. You aren’t someone who’s going to let lives be taken, nor would they be caught within the fire.”

“So it seems I’ve been figured out.”

“Neither of us can make a deal so you--”

“That’s right, Tsukasa. Let’s make a deal.” Senku says confidently, holding the paper airplane in his hands. He turned to look at [ f/n ]’s form, her shoulders pulled back as she stood straight. She gives him a smile before nodding her head, lowering her weapon to let the end of her staff rest on the ground. Feeling a bit relieved, he turns to look at the tall male before negotiating what he wants.

“All that time when you were training as a fighter, I’m sure your money went somewhere with someone as young as us. And it wasn’t investing into personal spendings, was it?”

Senku put the paper airplane away as he took a step forward to talk to Tsukasa better. He placed his hands on his hips before his fingers brushed against a flask that was attached to his belt. “[ f/n ] told me that she was clinically brain dead, but there were some cases that recalled otherwise. Your little sister wouldn’t have been able to survive if you didn’t financially support her, yes?”

“Yes..I had to train hard so the hospital could keep an eye on her. I didn’t want to believe the doctors that she was dying..so I had what I had to do..” Tsukasa mumbled before looking away, his right hand clenching onto the weapon he’s been holding onto from the start. Senku grabs the flask and opens it, pouring the contents onto a stone bird that was lying on the ground. 

“We can possibly cure her. With the power of the peripheral restoration that occurs at the time she is revived from petrification!”

Tsukasa watches in awe as the bird is brought back to life, the bird flying around while fleeing from the situation. He continued to look down, Senku waiting for an answer while he placed the flask back into his belt. 

“And your conditions are..?”

“The card that I’m giving you is a chance to revive your sister. In exchange, the card I want is a cease fire.”

Tsukasa looks at him with brows furrowed before he feels a gentle touch from his left side. He turns to look at [ f/n ], a smile gracing her lips as he couldn’t help but smile back at her. Senku quickly notices this and slightly blinks, his brows now furrowed as he looks between the two. He’d confused at first, but the unsettling feeling in his gut is telling him otherwise. Shaking his head out from random thoughts, Tsukasa turns to look at Senku once more and starts to speak again.

“And what would be my basis for believing that story of yours?”

“All you have is my word. Science doesn’t lie. Is that not enough?”

After hearing Senku’s answer, Tsukasa closes his eyes and inhales deeply before exhaling. Tsukasa then shakes his head before he looks at him with determination and nods his head once. “No, it’s enough. That’s enough.”

After negotiating with Tsukasa, everyone was on the lookout for Tsukasa’s younger sister, Mirai. Senku went on a tangent about using the newly invented dynamite but was immediately stopped by Yuzuriha when she scolded him. Giggling at the interaction, [ f/n ] feels someone placing their hand on her shoulder. She looks back and follows Tsukasa towards another area, unaware of the eyes that were following her form. Gen stops in his tracks as he looks at Senku, about to call out to him before noticing where he was looking. He blinks before he finally connects the dots, a grin gracing his lips before he folds his hands into his sleeves and calls out to him.

“Senku-chan! Let’s go check this area!”

“Yeah, I’m coming..” Senku mumbles his reply before shaking his head, running his hand through his hair before turning away and following the group. Tsukasa and [ f/n ] were looking around, Tsukasa holding onto the shovel while digging a few holes here and there. Minami was walking around and talking to the others, ordering them to dig up any other patients that were also petrified. 

“You seem a bit anxious. Are you alright?” [ f/n ] asks while looking up at him. Tsukasa looks at her for a moment before he turns to glance over his shoulder. He’s been feeling these glares for a while now and he’s already had a feeling on where it was coming from. After confirming his thoughts, he could see the familiar green hair design peeking from Gen and Chrome. 

“Tsukasa?”

“Sorry..it’s nothing to worry about. Just saw a curious rabbit.”

“‘Rabbit?’” [ f/n ] questions, tilting her head in confusion. Tsukasa shakes his head and looks down at her, reaching out to ruffle her hair. She whines before gently pushing his hand away and fixing her hair with a pout on her lips. He chuckles before continuing to lead the way with shovel in hand. 

After several hours of searching, Tsukasa was able to find his youngest sister, Mirai. [ f/n ], Yuzuriha and Nikki were quick at work after bringing in the clothing and petrification serum over. Once all preparations were done, [ f/n ] stood back to stand beside Senku and watched him fiddle with the flask in his hands. She looked at him and gently tickled his shoulder. His attention was caught as he looked at her, watching her lips form into a smile. Senku gazes at her as he feels his chest tighten, furrowing his brows in the process. [ f/n ] notices this and reaches out to rub his forehead, only for him to grab her hand and look back at her. 

“Se-Senku?”

[ f/n ] asks, obviously surprised by the sudden action. He only stares at her before squeezing her hand in his and releasing it to walk over to Mirai’s body. [ f/n ] blinks in confusion before relaxing, exhaling the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She continues to think about any hidden messages he was trying to tell her, but in the end she just shrugged her shoulders and stood beside Kohaku to witness Mirai’s revival. 

As Senku poured the serum over Mirai’s body, everyone had anxiously waited while the stone was starting to crack. And just like magic, Mirai was completely healed and free from her conscious prison. Tsukasa quickly caught her and looked into her eyes, his shock and disbelief visible as Mirai was blinking away the sleep. 

“Br-Brother..? Wow..you got way older..but I knew it was you in a second. How long was I asleep for..?”

“Six..no..thousands and thousands of years..” Tsukasa cried as he embraced her into his arms. The others start to rejoice as Senku, [ f/n ] and Yuzuriha stand together with a smile gracing their lips. Soon enough, Hyoga approaches the two siblings and points to a nearby stream. 

“Mirai-kun, you still have some stone fragments that mars your beauty. Why don’t you go wash up with that stream over there?”

The little girl nods and looks at her older brother before he also agrees with him. Tsukasa turns around to look at the [ h/c ] haired girl standing beside Senku, calling her over while having his hand on top of Mirai’s head. [ f/n ] blinks before she turns to look at Senku, red eyes meeting with [ e/c ]. 

“I’ll be right back, see you in about 10 minutes?”

Senku nods before crossing his arms over his chest. [ f/n ] smiles and walks over to meet Mirai, bending down to be eye level with her. [ f/n ]’s smile is bright as she introduces herself to the young child, extending her hand forward for her to hold. Feeling the sense of security, Mirai takes a hold of her hand as she was walking in between her older brother and the [ h/c ] haired girl while radiating like the sun. Senku observes them as they leave, feeling the same pit in his stomach before turning away to busy himself with something else. Yuzuriha catches this and looks towards [ f/n ]’s direction and turns back to look at the white haired scientist who was leaving to check on other things. She turns back to do a double take until an idea struck her mind as a smile graces her lips. 

She skips over to Senku, nudging his shoulder a little bit to catch his attention. After doing so, Senku looked over towards her direction and was immediately caught off guard from the unsettling smile she wore. 

“What the fu—what is up with your face, Yuzuriha?”

“Oh nothing..just wondering when you’ll finally admit your feelings for [ f/n ]-chan.”

It was if Senku was suddenly stabbed in the back with a fictional arrow, heaving forward and suddenly feeling heavy when she broke out the truth. Ukyo, who was standing nearby, nearly choked on air but had already looked towards Senku’s direction to see if he was alright. The scientist only glares at his childhood friend before looking away and busying himself with anything else. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know it’s an entirely new feeling, Senku your actions speak louder than words.”

He thinks back towards the moments he shared with [ f/n ], her radiant smile crystal clear within his memories. Just thinking back made his cheeks fluster just the slightest, his hands stopping what they were doing to hide his embarrassment. Yuzuriha smiled before patting his shoulder, wanting to know more but Chrome’s comment had instantly caught everyone’s attention. 

“Senku..the amount of dynamite sticks left don’t add up..”

“Are you sure you didn’t miscount or something, Chrome? You used so many last time, I’m sure you’re just mistaken.”

“If someone had taken them, I should’ve heard them. [ f/n ]-dono can get past me but she wouldn’t be needing to grab any. If there is anyone who can slip by me undetected..as far as I know there’s only one such person..”

Suddenly an explosion erupted in the distance, the impact strong enough to shake the ground just a bit. Everyone looks at the damage, Kohaku, Kinro and Ginro grabbing their weapons within the process. 

“An accident!?!”

“No it can’t be, it feels like a..”

“Where!? Where is that!?”

Senku finally stood from his spot, his eyes dilated and wide while staring at the large smoke rising into the sky. His whole body started to shake as his hands clenched into fists, a cold sweat running down the side of his temple. 

“That’s at the cave of miracles..!!”

The sound of the explosion was so vast, the ground even shook for [ f/n ] and Mirai by the stream. [ f/n ] quickly placed a hand on the girl in front of her while the other pressed itself onto the ground to keep her balance. Tsukasa and Hyoga stood nearby, looking around for the sudden explosion. 

“Wuah!! What was that..? An explosion..!?”

“I’m not sure..hopefully Senku and the others are alright..” [ f/n ] replies as she looks around for any particular movements. As Tsukasa was about to leave to check on the others, Hyoga finally turned to the two girls by the stream with his weapon in hand. From afar, Senku and Ukyo finally emerge from the forest with a panicked look on their face, Senku nearly sprinting as fast as he could towards them. 

“GET AWAY FROM THERE!! MIRAI!! [ F/N ]!!”

Suddenly feeling the sense of blood lust, [ f/n ] quickly turns her head towards Senku’s direction but is only blocked from Hyoga’s quick movements. He lunges forward with his spear heading straight towards her direction. [ f/n ] grabs Mirai and embraces her while having her face away from Hyoga, clenching her jaw to embrace the impact. But when nothing came her way, her once shut eyes started to open and turn to look over her shoulder in confusion. 

Once [ h/c ] colored eyes were met with Tsukasa’s broad back with Hyoga’s spear pierced through him, [ f/n ]’s face had started to pale as she brought Mirai closer to her chest. The little girl looked from her chest, a gasp escaping her lips as she clings onto [ f/n ]. 

“Whether I came from the shadows or attacked him in his sleep, taking out the ‘strongest primate highschooler’ Shishio Tsukasa..was an impossible feat. [ f/n ]-dono was just the same. She always seemed to be one step ahead of me and it was infuriating..so there had to be someone both of them could protect.”

Hyoga smirks as he turns to look at [ f/n ], who only flinches and holds Mirai tighter. “The one who has waited this long..is me. I’ve waited forever for this moment.”

He yanks the spear out of Tsukasa’s chest, pushing him away to reveal [ f/n ] and Mirai. His body was falling back, falling into the stream right behind him. But before he could fully emerge into the water, Senku quickly grabs his hand to balance out the weight. 

“Senku..”

“Senku!!” The scientist looks up once his name is called, turning to look and meet [ f/n ]’s concerned eyes. But before he could speak, he was quickly pushed in with Tsukasa, tumbling together into the stream. Before Kohaku and the others could capture Hyoga, he quickly jumps into the stream and follows the others. [ f/n ] stands to her feet and looks over the edge, watching as the others were carried away to who knows where.


	20. Chapter 20

Senku emerges from the water gasping for air, doing his best to carry Tsukasa’s unconscious body onto land. He grunts as he leans on his hands and knees, hearing the sound of water rippling and seeing a dark cloak from the corner of his eye. Senku scoffs as he looks up from the ground to meet Hyoga’s eyes. 

“I pierced Tsukasa’s chest. It’s a fatal wound so even if you try to save him, it’ll be impossible. I had also checked beforehand to make sure that the currents would carry us to this place..”

“Yeah I guessed as much. But Hyoga.. you’re not the type of guy who would take a chance by jumping into a river to come after us.” Hyoga was taking a few steps closer towards the duo, the water dripping from the ends of his hair. He still held his weapon on one hand, and the other tucked away within his cloak. 

“Correct..in other words, once I’ve dealt with the obstacle that Tsukasa-kun posed, I wanted to speak with you. Just the two of us..Senku-kun.”

Senku scoffs once more as he uses his freehand to pick his ear. He continues to stare Hyoga down, his other hand clenching Tsukasa’s wound to stop the bleeding. 

“Huh, is this a middle school confession? Sorry, I haven’t gotten a microns worth of conversation I want to have with you.”

“Is that so..? But surely you’ll listen! The only question that remains is if you do so willingly, or by torture..”

He thrusts his spear towards Senku’s shoulders, the scientist tensing up instantly. Hyoga looks down at him, the moonlight shining behind him ominously as a bead of sweat rolls down Senku’s temple. 

“Tsukasa and I shared the same foundational belief! That being..the phenomenon of petrification that rained down upon this earth many thousands of years ago was a trial to humanity. What one might call a ‘purge’.” Senku continues to listen as he puts up a smug expression while doing his best to stop the bleeding to Tsukasa’s wound. Unknown to Hyoga, Tsukasa had started to regain consciousness and slowly stir from his unconscious state.

“I know that you of all people would understand this, Senku.”

He turns to look at Tsukasa and takes a step forward to strike, knocking him away from Senku as the man grunts before letting his body rest somewhere else. Senku looks towards Tsukasa’s direction, about to go over to him but is quickly stopped by Hyoga’s spear again. He looks down at the weapon, Hyoga continuing his speech.

“What the noble Tsukasa-kun aimed for was a ‘Shangri-la’, where people do not take from one another. But I don’t have the slightest interest in that. Because if we allow the brainless, incopetent masses to remain, the process of sustaining them leads inevitably to them  _ taking _ from  _ us. _ In other words, what we need is a  _ trial _ .”

“In this world, only those who excel should be allowed to live!!”

Senku’s expression was starting to become solem while he was listening to Hyoga’s reason. He looks down at the ground slightly before raising his hands to fix his hair, finally responding to his rant on his Utopia.

“It’s rational, but not thrilling. If we can’t support all seven billion people, then we’ll just have to find a way to do so..with those seven billion people!! That’s the way of science!”

Hyoga’s glare deepened as his grip on his spear tightened. Taking the chance to strike, he slashes the tip of his spear towards Senku’s hand, cutting his finger and making him bleed. He flinches from the sudden cut, retracting his hand while glaring nervously at him. 

“You and her are utterly the same..always having faith and hope in people. What is so special with relying on people who don’t even have potential? They are just a waste of space!” Senku glares at him for a moment, the littlest of reaction causing Hyoga to smirk. He spins his spear for a second before directing the weapon towards his shoulder. 

“Oh..has that struck a nerve? Dear Senku-kun, you couldn’t possibly think I wasn’t that naive were you? If anything you were quite predictable yourself. Why don’t you join me, Senku-kun? You can start by teaching Tsukasa-kun a lesson..”

Hyoga takes a few steps forward and gently places the tip of his spear under Senku’s chin, causing him to stiffen as he raises his chin. 

“Tsukasa-kun has done so much to your precious [ f/n ]-dono..holding her, touching her and kissing her. Are you really going to allow another man to get away for what he’s done to her?”

Senku would be lying if he wasn’t starting to become ticked off. His chest was starting to hurt, hating how he was being swayed by Hyoga’s taunt. He takes a cautious step back, quickly noticing Tsukasa’s hand twitch a bit. From his peripheral vision, he could feel Tsukasa’s finger nudge his foot. And by his signal, he clenches his hand into a tight fist. Senku looks around and starts to put up an act by throwing stones towards Hyoga’s way. He easily deflected the stones, using his spear to hit them elsewhere. 

“Damnit, don’t come any closer!! You don’t know me at all!!”

“Hmm..to think that you would become so unsightly at this juncture..I might have overestimated you Senku-kun..”

“AHH!! SHUT UP!!”

Senku grabs another fistful of rocks, throwing them towards Hyoga’s direction as hard as he could. And as he was about to deflect them once more, Hyoga’s eyes began to squint from the oddly shaped stones. But as soon as he realized what kind of stones they were, they were unpetrified from the stone as the swallows covered his vision. Hyoga starts to panic, frantically waving his arms to try and shove the birds away, but fails severely. It was then in a split second, Tsukasa rose to his feet and struck Hyoga’s gut with a powerful punch which sent him back a few feet. Tsukasa takes a defensive stance in front of Senku, clenching his fists in front of him as they both slowly watch Hyoga straighten out his posture. 

“Once in the pursuit of my ideals..I broke a promise to you, Senku. And yet, you kept your promise to me. Now it’s my turn, the promise for the ceasefire. This time, for sure! Nothing dangerous will ever bother you again because from now on, I’ll do all the fighting!”

Hyoga scoffs from Tsukasa’s declaration, clenching his weapon tighter as he starts to give off a smug expression. 

“Then all I need to do is crush both of you. After all, a wounded lion and a man without any battle capabilities must be humanity’s weakest duo!”

Senku and Tsukasa merely grin at his taunt, holding their fists out until they made contact. “Let’s team up and fight together, Senku!”

“Yeah! Science and power! Now this is thrilling!!”

  
  


**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


As soon as Hyoga, Tsukasa and Senku were carried away by the river, [ f/n ] was nearly frozen in her spot holding Mirai in her arms. It wasn’t until [ f/n ] heard rapid footsteps coming towards her direction, immediately becoming defensive and quickly glaring at the person approaching. But as soon as she was met with Kohaku’s bright blue eyes, she lowered her guard down and loosened her grip on the little girl. 

“Are you alright, Sensei?”

“I’m alright. We need to hurry and follow that river to get to Senku and the others. Call for Kinro and Ginro too, we’re going to find them and teach them a lesson.”

[ f/n ] growled as she stood to her feet, her hand still resting on top of Mirai’s head. As Kohaku nodded with her plan, she quickly ran back to fetch the others, [ f/n ] about to run after her until she felt a tug on her right hand. Looking down at the source, [ f/n ]’s eyes meet with Mirai’s as her tears are threatening to overflow. 

“Please don’t leave..what if he..?” [ f/n ]’s eyes widen as she crouches to be eye level with her and quickly wraps her arms around her body. Mirai whimpers as she wraps her arms around her, softly clenching the back of her dress as [ f/n ] pet her head in a pacifying manner. 

“I’ll only be leaving for a moment..but I’m going to do my best to save your older brother, okay Mirai? It won’t be long, I promise..”

“You promise..?”

[ f/n ] pulls back just a bit to look at her in the eye and give her a comforting smile. She nods her head and gently caresses her cheek before giving her forehead a kiss. Mirai wraps her arms around her neck again, [ f/n ] wrapping her arms around her until she lifts her off the ground. [ f/n ] is quick to make her way towards the empire where everyone was waiting, putting Mirai down next to Suika who greets her with kindness. Ukyo stands right beside her as he passes her her bo staff, looking towards a general direction past the forest. 

“The stream heads towards the east so we’ll most likely find the others there.”

“Perfect. Let’s head out before Homura-san gets there before we do.” [ f/n ] commands, Ukyo, Kohaku, Kinrou, Ginro and Magma nodding with agreement before following her lead. As they were doing their best to hurry, they saw a flash of pink right in front of them and ready to strike once they noticed Tsukasa and Senku in view. Clenching her weapon, [ f/n ] takes a few strides forward before tackling the girl in front of her, Homura grunting in pain when she feels someone press their knee against her back. After struggling underneath her, she looks over her shoulder to look at the culprit before she immediately flinches under [ f/n ]’s stern gaze, a cold sweat running down her temple. 

“[ f-f/n ]-dono..”

“Don’t even think that begging for mercy will get you off the hook. Tie her up tightly, Kohaku.” The blonde girl takes her place as she takes a hold of her wrists to tie them together. [ f/n ] then looks ahead, jogging a few meters ahead to see the view of the two men laying on the ground and Hyoga twitching after nearly being tazed. Tsukasa’s breathing was ragged, his arms too weak to try and prevent his blood from spilling. [ f/n ] gasps as she quickly runs over towards their direction, looking down at the two men and focusing her gaze on them. She looks at Senku who waves his hand weakly towards Tsukasa’s direction, quickly understanding what he meant. [ f/n ] runs to Tsukasa’s side, kneeling beside him to apply pressure on his wound.

Tsukasa grunts in return, [ f/n ] mumbling an apology as she did her best to patch up his wound with what she had. She continues to fumble with the bandages, impatiently tapping her knee with her free hand as she was desperately looking for the men to help lift Tsukasa back. Tsukasa stares at her before weakly lifting his hand to brush his thumb against her cheekbone, catching her attention in the process. 

“You okay..?” He whispers as he continues the pacifying motion. [ f/n ]’s eyes look at him as her frown slightly creases, nodding her head in response to him. She places her hand over his, tightening her hold on his hand as Tsukasa smiles weakly towards her direction. Soon enough, some of Tsukasa’s men started to run over, [ f/n ] quickly moving out of the way so that he could be lifted and carried away. [ f/n ] takes this chance to look at her surroundings, looking back at the remaining others. 

Finding who she wanted to see, she walks up to the white haired scientist who was chatting with Kinro while knocking on the carbon shield attached to his chest. Once she came to Senku’s view, he slightly turned to look at her; the [ h/c ] haired girl giving her a troubled smile. [ f/n ] waves towards Kinro’s direction before he was called somewhere else, leaving the two behind. The two watch him leave, their hands softly brushing against each other until they are practically alone. 

[ f/n ] looks down for a moment before turning to look at Senku, who shyly does the same. Fully facing him now, she takes a step forward and let’s her hand reach up to rest against his cheek, finally having the chance to look for any injuries. 

“Are you okay? Are you badly injured..?”

“10 billion percent unphased.”

She looks at his face, Senku not looking away from her as he softened his gaze while his other hand had pushed some hair behind her ear. As she allows herself to break her composure, she sighs with relief and takes a step forward to rest her forehead against his chest. Senku holds her close, closing his eyes for a moment as the vivid memory of Hyoga’s intimidated face comes to view.

_ “Are you really going to allow another man to get away for what he’s done to her?” _

_ ‘Don’t believe anything on what he said. He was just trying to stir me up, anger me.’ _

Senku was unconsciously holding her closer to his body, squeezing her tightly. [ f/n ] quickly notices, looking up from his chest to try and look at him with a worried expression. Senku almost seemed like he was in a daze, his arms tightening again as a bead of sweat ran down his brow.

“Hey..” [ f/n ] softly whispers as she reaches up to caress his cheek again. Senku was quick to snap back to his senses, noticing the worried expression she wore and the nervous smile she gave him as well. Looking at her for a moment, he sighs and leans forward to rest his forehead on her shoulder. [ f/n ] chuckles as she wraps her arms around him, rubbing circles along his shoulder blade. Feeling his arms squeeze her again, she buries herself within his chest and softly clenches the back of his shirt.

“Whatever Hyoga told you..you know I had to go through this to survive.”

“I know.”

“I needed to confirm that you were still alive..I wouldn’t have done it in the first place but..”

“I know..” Senku whispers his response, pulling back to look at her in the eyes again. [ f/n ] looks at his face as she reaches to caress his cheek and gently run her thumb over his cheekbones. Senku’s gaze over looks her blossoming cheeks, doing the same as he reaches out to brush the color. [ f/n ]’s cheeks redden as her gaze softens, watching him starting to lean in just the slightest. 

“Please know that I’m..only yours..”

“As it should be.”

[ f/n ]’s cheeks were on fire as Senku took another step to lean even closer than before. She could feel his breath and the thought of him suddenly being bold was making her heart jump out from her ribcage. Senku on the other hand wasn’t too familiar with going along with his natural instincts, but this was an entirely new side he’s seen from [ f/n ].

And he wanted to see  _ more _ of it.

Senku’s thumb gently brushed against her bottom lip as he stared at it, looking up at the moment she decided to close her eyes and watch her pucker her lips a little bit. Senku nervously swallows his saliva before closing his eyes as well, leaning forward to meet her lips with his.

“Hey, Senku!! We’re ready to start reviving people! Yuzuriha just--eh? What happened? Se-Senku!?”

Chrome had almost walked in on the first attempt of their first kiss, [ f/n ] panicking from the sudden shout and quickly shoves Senku off of her. Senku was shoved so hard that he was nearly knocked out onto a bush, his leg twitching as [ f/n ] tried her best to cover her red face. Chrome quickly runs over to Senku’s side, asking him if he was alright and frantically trying to figure out what the problem was.

“Yo-You-You’re right Chrome!! We should head back! Yeah!! Let’s go!!”

[ f/n ] nervously laughs as she quickly agrees with her own suggestion before fleeing to return back to their new home base. As Chrome looked back to watch [ f/n ] frantically leave, he scratched his head before looking back at Senku who was doing his best to stand back up. Chrome was about to go help him up again but was frozen from his spot as soon as he felt a sudden chill in the air as Senku gave him a menacing glare. 

“Se-Senku..?”

“Let’s get going Chrome. Yuzuriha would definitely need an extra hand putting those statues together.”

Chrome shivers from the cold tone and quickly follows Senku’s footsteps, well aware that he could see smoke coming from every step he took. 

**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


“How’s the situation, Ukyo-kun?”

“He seems to be stable at the moment but I’m not sure if he will last long.” Ukyo reported as soon as [ f/n ] arrived. She nods along with the report, looking down at Tsukasa as his labored breathing continued. 

[ f/n ] makes contact with Tsukasa, the [ h/c ] haired girl giving him a gentle smile. She reaches out and strokes his cheek while brushing his hair behind his ear. Tsukasa’s breath was still uneven, but that didn’t stop him from returning her smile. [ f/n ] turns to look back towards Ukyo and Kiseki’s direction, retracting her hand to tie her hair back. 

“The wound is currently fatal so we’re going to run a procedure to patch it up. Call Yuzuriha to bring me some needles and string. Senku and Kaseki-san, can you two be my second pair of hands?”

Kaseki nods as Senku turns around to grab some cloth and a spare apron for her. He looks at [ f/n ] with a serious look before handing her the piece of clothing. 

“You’ll be able to handle this procedure, right [ f/n ]? With what we have, we can only delay his death.” [ f/n ] nods as she takes the apron from him and puts it on. She takes a moment to answer, looking down for a moment before turning back to look at Tsukasa’s wound on his chest.

“This will be my first time performing surgery so I’m honestly not too confident even if we delayed it for him.” She whispers her response, her expression clear as day as the others were resonating with what’s to come. It was silent for a moment before Tsukasa reached over and gently held [ f/n ]’s hand, causing her to turn and look at him. As she turns to look at him, [ f/n ] fails to notice Senku’s eyes piercing at the interaction with an unconscious pout forming on his lips. Kaseki stood in the middle, peering between all three youngsters in front of him before humming to himself. 

_ ‘Ah, young love.’ _

“Preparations are set now, [ f/n ]-dono. Yuzuriha is on her way as well.”

“Alright. Let’s get ready to begin the procedure.” [ f/n ] commands as she reaches beside her to wrap a white piece of cloth over her nose and mouth. She grabs another to hand to Senku and Kaseki, standing by Tsukasa’s bedside while looking down at the prepared tools to her right. Making eye contact with Tsukasa once more, she adjusts the mask before speaking. 

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any anesthesia to help numb out the pain. Will you be alright to withstand it for a bit?”

“Hehehe...don’t underestimate the strongest primate fella. You can take it without anesthesia, right Tsukasa?”

“Of course.”

Senku chuckled evilly as he loomed over Tsukasa’s form, the male responding with the most robotic tone in the world. [ f/n ] sighs, chuckling nervously before Yuzuriha entered the scene with a surprised yelp. They all turn to look at her, the girl slightly shaking as she holds her tools close to her chest. 

“Wait so..the work that you’re doing is..”

“Don’t worry Yuzuriha, I’ll make sure that Senku and Kaseki build you anything you want once this operation is over.” 

[ f/n ] awkwardly chuckles as she gently pats her friend’s shoulder. The girl looks at her [ h/c ] haired friend before handing her her tools and quickly wishing her luck before leaving the cave. But as she was about to leave, she quickly notices Tsukasa’s younger sister peering from behind the cave’s entrance and nearly fainting at the horrid sight of her brother. Before [ f/n ] could start to worry about Mirai, Yuzuriha quickly takes action and leads her away for a moment before comforting the little girl. [ f/n ] takes a deep breath as she looks down at Tsukasa, the male laying on the bed already looking at her. 

“Alright, let’s begin.”

**_~~~~~~_ **

  
  


After about 1 or 2 hours, [ f/n ] was able to manually stitch up Tsukasa’s internal wounds to keep the blood flowing. As she made the final stitches to his external wound, she sighs with relief before tying knot and cutting the last bit of string. Putting her tools away, she removes her mask and apron while placing her fingers on his wrist to check for his pulse. 

“Tsukasa’s breathing is stable and the surgery is a success. Ukyo-kun, if you could stay with me for a moment to discuss Tsukasa’s behavior towards the end of the procedure, that would be great.”

“Of course [ f/n ]-dono.”

[ f/n ] walks around to meet up with him, but not before looking down at Tsukasa and caressing his cheek. He opens his eyes tiredly and smiles towards her direction. 

“Good job, Tsukasa. You did well..”

“So did you..thank you..”

Her smile stays as she caresses his cheek for a moment longer before leaving his side to talk to Ukyo. As Tsukasa watches her leave, Senku clears his throat to catch his attention. Tsukasa quickly turns to look towards Senku’s direction, the scientist’s facial expression so expressionless that it was slightly intimidating. Just  _ slightly. _

“As expected from the strongest primate high schooler to go through a whole surgery procedure without anesthesia. You’re a real freak, you know that?”

Senku comments as he proceeds to put the tools away with Kaseki. Tsukasa chuckles weakly as he takes his time trying to catch his breath. As he laid his head back against the pillow, his gaze started to lean towards the [ h/c ] haired girl who was holding her chin with her right hand. Senku notices his silence, peering down at him as he finishes his task. He looks at him for a moment before looking up towards [ f/n ]’s direction, watching her write something down before collecting the papers and thanking Ukyo. The male bows his head before excusing himself, but not before looking at Tsukasa and bowing his head just a bit. Tsukasa smiles as Ukyo takes his leave, [ f/n ] letting out a sigh before joining to stand beside Senku.

“The surgery went accordingly but even what we could do, there’s still a chance for your body to react negatively in due time.”

“Yes, It’s my own body and I understand it the best. The surgery bought me time but if I were to go into septic shock, I’ll only have a few days to live.”

“Yeah. In this stone world, there’s only one way to save you.” Senku chimes as [ f/n ] looks away with a sullen expression. 

_ ‘Temporary petrification..’ _ [ f/n ] thought as Senku was explaining the situation to Gen. His expression was shocked, his brows furrowed as Senku clenched his hands into fists as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. 

“I don’t know how many years it could take. And you’ll ten billion percent kick the bucket before then. So Tsukasa, before that happens..with these hands, I will kill you. In that time, I’ll find the source of the petrification. No matter what it takes, I’ll bring you back!”

“That’s the..only way. Believe in me and be killed.” 

“Of course. In fact, if I have to die at all, I’d rather it be at your hands. After all, I already killed you once, Senku.”

As [ f/n ] stood by and watched this exchange, she looked down as she gently held her forearms while squeezing them in a sense of comforting herself. Senku confirms this and looks at the [ h/c ] haired girl next to him and proceeds to give her the task to look after Tsukasa while he leaves to start his project on creating a refrigerator. 

[ f/n ] nods as she watches Senku leave with Gen following him, meeting with the others outside as they start to discuss the lay out. As her attention was averted away, Tsukasa looked up at her but noticed something else beside her averted attention. Her head was turned towards Senku’s direction, the outline of her crack marks on her collarbone becoming prominent as how they were originally etched. With as much strength he could muster, he reaches out to brush his thumb over her crack marks and gains her attention. She places her hand over his, looking down at him as she gives him a small smile.

“Your markings..it all makes sense now.”

“My markings?”

“They were always looking towards someone’s way. And in this case..it’s Senku who you’ll always see.”

[ f/n ] blinks as she looks away from Tsukasa’s gaze, unsure what to say. Tsukasa chuckles, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. The gesture easily makes [ f/n ]’s cheeks flush, watching him kiss her knuckles only increased the embarrassment. 

“You’ve done so much work with these hands, including by saving my life. I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done for the people..”

“Tsukasa..”

“I’m glad it was you that I fell in love with..”

[ f/n ]’s eyes widened as a small gasp escaped her lips, her free hand instinctively moving up to cover her mouth. Tsukasa strokes his thumb over the top of her knuckles, looking up and making eye contact with the [ h/c ] haired girl again. 

“I know this isn’t a typical confession but—“

“Stop, Tsukasa.”

Interrupting him completely, she shakes her head before frowning towards his direction. She looks down at their joined hands and cradles his hand completely with hers. She kneels to be eye level with him and looks him in the eyes. 

“You will confess to me when we bring you back, understand? Senku and I are going to make sure you return or else who else is going to keep Mirai-chan safe?”

Tsukasa blinks as he closes his eyes to let a chuckle escape his lips. He looks back at [ f/n ] for a moment before nodding his head in agreement and bringing her hands close. He kisses her hands once more, unaware of the rustling noise that was starting to enter the cave. [ f/n ] turned her attention to the noise, noticing that it was Senku bringing in various parts to assemble the refrigerator. She then turns to look at Tsukasa and leans close to kiss his forehead, pulling away to give him a smile of her own. 

“I’ll wait for your confession.”

As soon as Tsukasa gives her another smile and nods to her response, she smiles back before giving his hand a squeeze and taking her leave. She approaches Senku, gently tapping his shoulder to get his attention. The white haired scientist turns towards the girl and listens to her, Senku peering toward Tsukasa’s direction before nodding his head. She smiles before looking over her shoulder and waving towards Tsukasa’s direction once more before leaving the cave completely. As soon as she was a couple steps away from the cave’s entrance, she stopped within her tracks before placing her hand over her mouth to prevent the soft sob that escaped her lips. After doing her best to compose herself for a few minutes, she hears a rustling noise nearby. [ f/n ] looks up from where she stood and watches the person reveal themselves, the little girl that was just revived in this world looking up at [ e/c ] colored hues nervously.

“Mirai-chan..”

“You’re the onee-chan that helped me when Tsukasa-nii was hurt..is he going to be okay? Do you know..?”

[ f/n ] looked down at her with a bit of shock before taking a breath and kneeling in front of her to be eye level. She reaches out and wraps her arms around the little girl, the girl looking at her with confusion as she hugged her back.

“Tsukasa is going to be fine..but Senku is going to have to keep him safe for now until we can find the cure. Do you understand?”

Mirai pulls away to look at [ f/n ]’s eyes as the girl reaches forward to brush her blonde hair behind her ears. Mirai was tearing up from the kind gesture before registering what she meant. Mirai quickly nods before hugging her once more, [ f/n ] welcoming her with open arms. 

All the while [ f/n ] was with Mirai, Senku was assembling the final parts to the refrigerator and adjusting the height to reach the waterfall. Tsukasa’s labored breathing was the only thing heard between the still silence, Senku tightening a few bolts before letting the cool breeze fill the cave. Kasekl takes this moment to guide Kohaku and Ginrou out of the cave, Ginrou looking back towards the older man with confusion. 

“Ehh? Why do we have to--”

“If you have to deliver the fatal blow to your friend, who would want people watching?” Kaseki explained as he was gently ushering Ginro and Kohaku towards the exit. Ginro continued to look back, Kohaku looking at the two leaders before nodding her head with understanding.

“Those two are both leaders. They should have their final words in peace.”

“Then what about [ f/n ]? Isn’t she the leader in this village too?”

“Yes but..” Kohaku started but when both had faced forward, they were met with [ f/n ]’s form slightly peeking from behind the entrance of the cave, her back leaning against the wall and away from Senku and Tsukasa. Finally getting the message, Ginro looks down and follows Kohaku and Kaseki out of the cave. 

The atmosphere was silent with the soft clinks of machinery within the air, the only two people left were Senku and Tsukasa. Tsukasa had turned his head to watch the scientist work, looking at the finished device. 

“A cold sleep, hm? I’ve only ever heard of that on sci-fi spaceships.”

“Spaceships, huh? The Soyuz can only fit three people. Of all the people around you, who would you choose to bring along on a journey to space?”

“Hmm, I wonder..”

But as Tsukasa was about to list off the people he thought first, he blinked before looking towards Senku’s direction again. “Are you asking me..to make a list of all the capable people I know before I go..?”

“Huh?? What are you talking about? I was just asking.”

“Why would you..ask me something..so pointless at the end of everything..?” Senku had stopped what he was doing as he let his question linger in the air for a moment. With his back still facing him, he slightly looks over his shoulder and answers with a question of his own.

“What’s wrong with a little pointless conversation?” 

Tsukasa stays silent for a moment before allowing a smile to grace his lips. He turns back to face the ceiling and starts to list off the candidates he would bring to the moon, closing his eyes for a moment.

“Hmm..Taiju perhaps..I’d worry about your stamina on a planetary expedition Senku..perhaps I’d bring Chrome.”

“Yeah, I think I’d be pretty useless there too. Wouldn’t that girl with the shells be good?” Senku asks as he continues with his own work.

“She’s a reporter. I figured she’d be a valuable source of information when I was selecting candidates for revival..and..I just wanted [ f/n ] to have someone to talk to..” Although with his back turned, Senku had suddenly had a peaked interest with this new topic involving the [ h/c ] haired girl. Unaware, Tsukasa continues to talk about [ f/n ] as he lets himself smile just for a moment.

“They got along rather well and I’m glad that they did. [ f/n ] was against my beliefs but she still stayed by my side even if it was just for a moment.”

“That girl is so troublesome..always getting herself into trouble because she’s so eager to learn anything.”

“Troublesome..I do agree..but that’s what makes her beautiful, don’t you think so too, Senku?” 

Slightly shocked from the question he asked him, Senku turns around to look at the man laying down, his tired eyes and lopsided smile making him look a bit ridiculous. But regardless of his appearance, Senku couldn’t stop a smirk to grace his lips as soon as he thought of [ f/n ]’s face the moment before Chrome had interrupted their moment. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” 

From then on, Senku started to talk about childhood stories about [ f/n ] to Tsukasa. The man chuckled from time to time, listening intently as Senku told many stories of the [ h/c ] haired beauty. But as their conversation continued, Tsukasa could feel himself getting tired and wanting to let his heavy eyelids close and rest. And he was doing so, Senku’s voice was drowning out from within his conscious, and the vivid image of [ f/n ] appearing within his mind before closing his eyes completely.

“The theory that mushrooms are actually amanita muscaria becomes likely. They’ve always looked alike, after all. And if one consumes ibotenic acid, it also seems to cause hallucinations. You know what I mean? You think so too, don’t you..?”

As Senku asks the question, there is silence that fills the air. He chuckles for a moment to himself before looking down at his hand, his smile starting to falter as he covers his face with his hand. 

_ ‘You know what I mean right, Tsukasa..? _

After composing himself once more, he pulls his hand away from his face to look at the large man and gets to work. He places Tsukasa inside the refrigerator, gently closing the lid on top of him as the device seals him inside. Senku places his hand on top of the refrigerator and smiles, gently tapping the top.

“I’ll give you my thanks when we wake you up again.” He whispers before leaving him to call [ f/n ] over. Once leaving the cave, he notices the [ h/c ] haired girl not too far away with Mirai, quickly catching her attention with his presence. Mirai runs around [ f/n ], making her turn back and look at Senku’s direction as he leads Mirai inside. Upon seeing the device, Mirai smiles sadly as tears ran down her cheeks while laying her cheek on top.

“My brother protected me for so many years..so this time, I’ll protect him forever. Every single day, I’ll stand watch and I won’t let any part of him break.”

[ f/n ] smiles as she gently places her hand on top of her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze to show her affection. Senku looks at the large box in front of him before giving the [ h/c ] haired girl a glance. She held a sad smile on her lips, her free arm resting across her waist. Senku reaches out and places her head on his shoulder for a moment, catching [ f/n ] by surprise for a split moment. Even with that small bit of comfort, [ f/n ]’s eyes began to sting before she covered her eyes with her free hand. Letting a few sniffles escape her, she lowers her guard and stays like this for a moment before pulling away and recollecting herself. Peering towards Senku’s direction, she nods her head before the scientist gives her a small smile and brushes her cheek just a bit. 

Leaving her side, [ f/n ] looks down at the blonde girl and gently strokes her hair as the girl reaches out to her for comfort while still having a hand against the refrigerator. As she continued to stroke Mirai’s hair, one of Tsukasa’s men approached the two girls and bowed his head slightly. 

“[ f/n ]-dono, would you like to hold onto this then?”

As she turns to look at the man, she looks down towards the folded cloak that was in his hands. It was Tsukasa’s lion pelt cloak, neatly folded and presented in front of her. Soon, Mirai’s attention is also drawn towards the piece of clothing, raising her head to get a better look at it. Looking down at the girl with her peaked interest, [ f/n ] smiles before taking the lion pelt and gently placing it on top of Mirai’s shoulders. 

Mirai gasps as she looks up at [ f/n ], the [ h/c ] haired girl’s smile not faltering when she placed her hand on her head again. But as she was about to turn away to give Mirai some space, she quickly grabbed onto [ f/n ]’s hand and pulled her back. Looking down at her with a small gasp, Mirai tightens her grip around the pelt before shrugging it off and placing it onto her free hand.

“Mirai-chan bu-but..”

“I think you deserve this more, onee-chan. My brother was a leader..and he seemed to like you a lot to put so much trust into you.”

Hearing her words, [ f/n ]’s cheeks immediately blush before she waves her free hand in front of her, Mirai looking up at her with a smile. She gives her hand a squeeze before lightly pushing the cloak towards her until it’s lightly pressed against her stomach.

“Keep it so my big brother can protect you! Even though he’s not here..at least he’ll always be with you in this!”

Still looking down at the girl with surprise, she takes both of her hands and holds the cloak. Mirai then smiles brightly before taking a step back, folding her hands behind her back as [ f/n ] was still hesitating on wearing it. But as she looked up, she met a few gazes of some of Tsukasa’s men who quickly smiled in return before bowing their heads.

Observing their behavior, she looks around and catches a few more glances before they bow their head towards her direction as well. Finally, she looks down at the cloak once more as she closes her eyes before hugging the cloth close to her chest. Taking a deep breath, she stands tall as she wraps the cloak around her shoulders, Mirai watching with amazement as [ f/n ] gently flips her hair back as it complimented her figure. Feeling the cloak wrap around her body, [ f/n ] admits to herself with a smile as she looks down at the pelt.

_ ‘Warm as it was the first time I wore it..’ _

Looking down at Mirai’s direction, she gives her a genuine smile before giving her a spin from where she stood. Mirai’s giggle filled the cave as she clapped her hands, a soft blush coating her cheeks.

“You look amazing, onee-chan!!”

“Thank you..and thank you for encouraging me, Mirai-chan.”

Leaning down, she caresses her cheek and catches her slightly by surprise before she smiles into her affectionate touch. Leaning into her hand, [ f/n ] smiles before she stands tall once more and faces the exit of the cave. “Let’s go and help Senku, shall we? I also need to introduce you to the others.”

“Okay!” 

Mirai takes [ f/n ]’s extended hand as they both make their way out of the cave. The sun was bright as they covered their eyes for a moment, until they were able to adjust towards the lighting. And once they regained their vision, [ f/n ] was welcomed by a new wave of people in front of her, feeling a sense of hope when she saw Senku standing tall while doing his best to explain what their next motive is. Senku had turned around to look over his shoulder, making eye contact with [ f/n ] for a split moment before looking back and putting his gaze on her. 

In that time frame, [ f/n ]’s began to fluster a soft pink before smiling in his direction, Senku offering a smile in return. He takes a moment before walking towards her, catching [ f/n ] by surprise by the sudden approach. 

“We’re going to solve this mystery..the science that had put every single one of us in peril..together..” [ f/n ] could feel her heart beating against her chest as Senku reaches forward and takes her free hand in his, her blush darkening by the second. But as soon as [ f/n ] opened her mouth to respond to him, Senku quickly raises [ f/n ]’s arm and screams at the top of his lungs while facing the large crowd.

“STARTING NOW, WE’RE ALL GOING TO BUILD A BOAT!!”

[ f/n ] couldn’t help but look at Senku with shock before it had switched to annoyed as the white haired scientist kept laughing like a maniac. The girl beside him only pouted as she looked away, her lips puckered as she pulled her hand away. As soon as she was about to walk away to join Nikki and Uyko, Gen’s voice echoes as he places his hands in his sleeves.

“Well then~ how about everyone puts their ideas together..and we pick the best one! And we’ll have [ f/n ]-dono be our final judge since she’s our co-leader to Senku, isn’t she?”

“Gen..?”

“Thank you..for everything [ f/n ]-dono.” With the sudden announcement, Gen bows his head in front of her and catches her by surprise. As she walked up to tell him to raise his head, she started to look around and notice one by one, heads were being bowed in a similar position. Her eyes widened from the sudden recognition, utterly speechless from the respect that was given to her.

“Everyone..”

“Thank you for taking care of us, [ f/n ]-dono!!”

“You’re our goddess!!”

“Thank you!!” Everyone had started to cheer, [ f/n ]’s eyes scanning the crowd as they waved their hands towards her. Giving them all a smile, her heart was filled with content as she stood tall with the cloak ruffles against the soft breeze that was passing by.

“Let’s continue to work together to build up humanity again. With the help of science!!”

**~~~~~~**

Night had fallen that day and everyone was starting to retire into their homes. There were some newly built ones as others were helping each other assemble huts for the newly revived. [ f/n ] had just tucked all of the children to bed, making her way back towards her own home. Lanterns that were built lit up the empire, radiating a soft and light as she was walking along the pathway. She was bidding a few people goodnight as they greeted her, giving them a smile of her own in return. Nikki was walking beside her, stopping in the middle of the pathway to look at her. Nikki tilted her head in confusion, looking at the [ h/c ] haired girl as all she did was smile.

“You should get some rest, Nikki. We’re probably going to need to wake up early tomorrow.”

“Yes, I will rest for the night then. You have a good night yourself, [ f/n ]-dono.” Nikki smiles back as she bows her head, turning and walking away from her. [ f/n ] stays until she sees her enter her hut, inhaling softly before making her way up the hill. Towards the right, there was a little canopy with some light shining, [ f/n ] taking a closer look as she noticed Gen, Senku and Chrome’s figure from the distance. Walking closer, Chrome quickly notices her presence as he waves in her general direction. Gen and Senku follow his line of sight, watching as [ f/n ] approaches them with a smile before peering down towards the large poster paper laid out on the table.

“It’s starting to become late, shouldn’t you all get some rest?”

“Senku was about to be almost done with his boat! Doesn’t it look great, [ f/n ]?”

Looking down at the piece of paper once more, she gazes at the detail before nodding her head. A giggle escapes her lips as she holds her own chin, looking at Senku playfully. “You say that you’re making a boat but it practically looks like a pirate ship.”

“Because that’s  _ exactly _ what we need. All that’s left is to find a captain.”

“And I’m sure you’ll find him tomorrow morning. Let’s all head to bed now.”

“Wha--but it’s not that dark out! Plus, Senku and I are scientists! We don’t stop working until we find the solution!!” Chrome whines as he holds his fist up in the air. Senku nods in agreement as he is about to start working again before [ f/n ] rolls her eyes and snatches the piece of paper from the table. She starts to roll it up, both Chrome and Senku gasping in shock from the sudden action. 

“Yes, and both scientists are human. And the human body requires  _ rest _ . Once well rested, then you can have your blueprints back.” Chrome and Senku look at her with a slight pout before they submit defeat. Smiling victoriously, she looks at Gen who was already looking at her.

“Take Chrome with you and get as much rest as you can. I’ll also retire for the night.”

“As you wish, [ f/n ]-dono. Sleep well.” 

[ f/n ] nods her head before watching the two turn around and leave, leaving Senku and [ f/n ] alone once more. Senku was about to follow them but he stops all movement when she takes a hold of the lanturn and holds it up. 

“You’re really not planning on resting, are you?”

Senku turns and looks at her once he hears her question. She notices the concerned expression she wore, causing him to smirk. The action made [ f/n ]’s cheek fluster a bit, turning away to hopefully hide it as best as she could. Senku chuckles as he takes a step forward to gently tug on the piece of paper she was holding onto, making eye contact. 

“Y’know that this boat isn’t going to build itself, [ f/n ]. The least I could do is just finalize these blueprints and just--”

As soon as he was about to fully snatch the rolled up piece of paper, [ f/n ]’s eye twitches and steps back from Senku’s grasp. Catching onto his schemes, Senku flinched from the sudden glare he received before she started to walk away, still in her hands. 

“I know that you’re a hard working person but staying here isn’t going to help you. At least work in a more appropriate place.” 

[ f/n ] points out as she starts walking away, peering over her shoulder occasionally to follow her. Sensing what she meant, Senku decided to follow and watch her pass a few huts to walk up another hill. Thankfully the hill wasn’t too high to tire him out, but still steep enough that it gave a nice view of the whole village. Senku looked back and peered over the little town, some people talking amongst themselves as the lights illuminated the night sky. But as soon as he faced forward, he was faced with a larger building, but not that big to compare itself to a skyscraper. The building resembles [ f/n ]’s secret base by the river, but slightly taller and radiating with different lanterns surrounding it. [ f/n ] walked up the steps and opened the door, looking back and giving Senku a smile.

“Now this looks like a luxury home  _ made _ for a leader.”

“It’s really impressive, honestly. I didn’t think that they would advance this much.”

Upon entering, the large area where blankets were spread out and a desk was also in view. And in the corner of the room, there was a small fireplace where [ f/n ] leaned over and started to keep warm. She had placed the blueprints down on the desk, but Senku’s attention was drawn towards the large window by the bed that held a beautiful view of the night sky. Walking towards it, he lets his hands rest on the windowsill and look up towards the moon as he lets himself take a deep breath. [ f/n ] turns around from where she sat and gazes towards his figure, letting a small smile ghost her lips. She grabs an extra blanket and walks over to him, placing the comforter on top of his shoulders. Feeling the weight, he looks to his right and watches [ f/n ] take a seat beside him as she looks up towards the moon. Suddenly feeling a bit nervous, Senku adverts his gaze back to the night sky, all the while he’s unaware of [ f/n ]’s nervous side glance. 

“Now that you’ve won this stone war, how does it feel to completely take over Japan?”

Senku hums before tapping his chin playfully and looking down at the [ h/c ] haired girl with a smirk on his lips. Making eye contact with him, [ f/n ] lets out a small giggle which makes Senku smile. 

“It’s only Japan but gradually, it will be the whole universe.”

“Oh really? That’s a pretty large declaration. You need to capture a planet at least.” Seizing the moment, Senku hesitated for a moment but stood his eye contact with her. He nervously places his hand on top of her, his finger brushing along hers to intertwine. Feeling the sense of touch, [ f/n ]’s cheeks start to blush as she looks up at him, Senku’s red eyes peering down sparking [ h/c ].

“World, acquired.” Senku whispered as his cheeks blossomed to a bright pink. [ f/n ] blinks as she continues to stare at him, watching Senku nervously fidget as he was trying to read what expression she was giving him. [ f/n ] pulled her hand away and scooted away, looking at Senku with disbelief and shocking the scientist.

“Who are you and what have you done to Senku?”

“Wha-- [ f/n ], come on!! At least give me some credit! That mentalist made me do it in order to get the materials that I wanted!!”

“AND YOU LISTENED TO HIM?? NO, STAY AWAY FROM ME!! I DON’T KNOW YOU!!”

“[ F/N ]!!”

After running away and slipping through Senku’s grasp several times, [ f/n ] thought it was finally time to give in and let Senku calm down. Both Senku and [ f/n ] sat against the headboard of the bed, [ f/n ] sitting in between Senku’s legs as he rests his head on her shoulder from behind. The [ h/c ] slightly fidgets from her spot, only for Senku to tighten his hold on her. [ f/n ] then looks down at Senku’s arms that were wrapped around her, gently running her finger along his forearm out of boredom.

“Senku?”

“Hm?”

“Once the construction starts, are you going to leave to fetch for a captain?” Feeling his head nod in response to her question, [ f/n ] hums as she makes herself comfortable by leaning back towards Senku’s chest. She reaches up and combs her hand through his hair, the scientist humming with content. 

“You should bring Minami-san and Nikki with you. I’m sure they could help you in some way.”

“The reporter?” [ f/n ] smiles softly as she nods, still petting Senku’s hair before he moved to look at her. [ f/n ] turned to face him, blushing just a tad by the closeness and looking up to meet his gaze. 

“She’s probably still sulking about Tsukasa but I’m sure that he told you about her knowledge about people. She’s like the main network.” 

Senku hums and nods his head, breaking eye contact to think for a moment. After a moment of silence, [ f/n ] boldly reached up to brush one of his strands of hair away from his face, bringing his attention back.

“If you’re going to work then at least sleep for a little bit. I don’t want your body to burn out, or else you’ll be stuck with a fever. Remember what happened in middle school?”

Senku rolls his eyes before going back to his original position and resting his head on her shoulder again. Having to turn back and face forward, [ f/n ] only sighs before combing his hair again and leans back to rest against his chest.

“Sleep for 4 hours and you can go back to work.”

“1 hour.”

“2 hours, take it or I’m taking your travel privileges away.”

“.....okay.” Smirking with triumph, [ f/n ] made herself comfortable against Senku as the male only sighs while wrapping the blanket around the both of them. Looking down at her and watching her doze off, he scoffs before resting his cheek on top of her head and tightening his hold around her. 

“Gosh, you’re hopeless.”

**_~_ **

After Senku’s boat was unanimously picked amongst the crowd, everyone got to work on the base of it. Although Nikki wanted to stay by [ f/n ]’s side, she ended up following her orders to help Senku with accompanying him and Minami. Waving as the group started to depart, [ f/n ] sighed as Ukyo peered over towards her direction. 

“Are you alright, [ f/n ]-dono?”

Hearing the question, you turned to look at your companion before giving him a tired smile. Ukyo blinked before he tilted his head in confusion, still worried from the slightly stiff expression.

“For some reason I have an odd feeling once they come back..”

Sensing the uneasiness, Ukyo immediately understood and quickly stopped questioning her. He then changes the subject by asking what needs to be done today, the [ h/c ] haired girl nodding and walking back to the empire. Throughout the day, it was so peaceful that all she wanted to do was sit on the beach and dip her feet into the ocean. But despite wanting to relax, she had to finish her tasks and see to make sure the villagers were living comfortably. 

[ f/n ] had first visited the children, welcoming them with a warm smile and wrapping them into a group hug as best as she could. She introduced some new kids that traveled from Ishigami village to the others, quickly accepting them and wanting to play with some toys she made. Making herself comfortable, the youngest had reached out to her and made himself comfortable in her arms. She sat on a chair, Ukyo standing beside her as he held his hands behind his back. 

“You don’t have to stay with me, Ukyo-kun.”

“It’s alright, [ f/n ]-dono. Being by your side brings me peace. I hope you don’t mind..” Ukyo confesses, a slight blush coating his cheeks as he turns away in embarrassment. [ f/n ] looks at him before smiling to herself, still stroking the child’s hair. 

“Yes, I don’t mind it at all.”

After some time, [ f/n ] decided to leave once the children had been tucked for their nap of the day. Pulling the blanket close to the youngest child, she exhales softly before taking her leave but not before assigning a few other villagers to keep an eye on the kids. Ukyo follows her out, walking beside her as she starts greeting the other residents while making her way towards the farms. But throughout her walk, [ f/n ] peers up at the sky and notices the gray clouds that were starting to form. 

“Hmm..we should hurry, Ukyo-kun.” Agreeing with her statement, Ukyo follows close behind as he meets up with the people in charge of the farms. Upon her arrival, they greeted her before they gathered together to give a status report on the crops. [ f/n ] listened to what they had to say and understood their needs. She then pointed out a few things before she felt a few droplets from the sky, gently wiping her cheek as she looked at the sky once more.

“It’s going to be raining soon so we’ll use that to our advantage. Sprinkle the last bit of fertilizer and I’ll report this to Senku and ask for more.”

“Yes, [ f/n ]-dono!”

The farmers quickly dispersed and started to get to work before the weather had started to change. [ f/n ] and Ukyo stood underneath some coverage, watching the others work while [ f/n ] peered up at the sky. But out of nowhere, Ukyo flinched and covered his right ear, a bead of sweat cascading down his temples. [ f/n ] saw this from the corner of eye and quickly looked at her companion with worry. 

“Are you alright, Ukyo-kun?”

“I-I’m fine! There’s just..a really loud person screaming about oil..”

“‘Oil’? It wouldn’t be Taiju to bring up something like that..” [ f/n ] pondered to herself as she held her chin. The rain was short lived as the sun started to shine, now hearing an uproar of people in the distance. After gathering the farmers back together and letting them rest, she was unaware of Gen’s figure approaching them until Ukyo turned around. 

“[ f/n ]-dono…”

“Yes? Can I—! G-Gen!?”

He was practically deflated as he stood by [ f/n ]’s side, Ukyo reaching out and holding him up. [ f/n ] quickly asks someone to fetch her some water while she guides Gen to take a seat. 

“Gen, what happened? Are you feeling that unwell?”

“[ f/n ]-dono, please run as far away as you can. For your sake.”

“Eh?” [ f/n ] blinked in confusion as her friend looked up at her with pleading eyes, grasping her hands together as a random splurge of sparkles appeared. The girl is confused even more as her attention was brought elsewhere when the farmer returned with water. She thanked him before handing Gen the cup of water, thanking her before taking it from her. 

“Gen, I’m not sure I can follow what you suggested just now..” [ f/n ] sighed as she watched him finish the rest of the contents. He sighs before standing up and shaking his head again before folding his hands into his sleeves. 

“I know it’s a bit sudden, but you really need to listen to me this time! Or else he’s—!”

“Oh my..I don’t think I’ve ever seen a beauty such as you.”

Hearing an unfamiliar voice, [ f/n ] turns to look at a large man with different attire walking towards her direction. She was quick to notice the familiar hat he wore on his head, remembering the moment she ran into Yuzuriha who had just finished designing the final look. He stood tall in front of her, removing the hat from his head as he placed it against his chest. He brought himself down onto his knee in front of her, making everyone at the scene shocked. The man takes a hold of [ f/n ]’s hand into his and looks up at her, a confident smirk on his lips. 

“I’ve decided, Senku! The conditions as payment for the captain is the rights to oil and the hand of this fair maiden!” Peering down at her hand, he leans close and presses his lips against the back of it; causing [ f/n ] to flinch from the sudden touch.

“Eh?!”

“ _ EEEEHHH??!!!??” _


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I mentioned I was going to work on Doctober Stone but as soon as I started writing for that, I finally got out of writers block for the main story OTL I'M SO ASHAMED IM SORRY!!
> 
> I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to that one but if an idea pops into my head then I'll start writing! I won't be deleting the work since I also look back at these and read them too (lol) but for now, I think I have a certain flow with the main story for now ^^; (also Genshin Impact has been keeping me BUSY i'm so addicted I need to stop)
> 
> regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you again for the support and lovely comments! Y'all are so sweet, it brings a tear to my eyes ;; 3 ;; thank you and enjoy! <3

[ f/n ] stood there frozen as the man continued to hold her hand, his eyes shining with determination as the others were in utter shock. 

“A beauty such as you has probably captured every man’s heart, hence the representation of the lion’s pelt on your shoulders! You must be highly respected! As a woman who should stand by my side, should be you!”

The man starts to boast, shining brightly as [ f/n ]’s eye twitches from annoyance. She looks up and quickly makes everyone flinch (except Senku who was snickering to himself in the corner). Making eye contact with him, he coughed into his hand before reading the mental message she was passing to him. 

_ “Explanation. Now.” _

Senku sighs before walking over to her and standing beside the strange man, his pinky reaching up to pick his right ear. 

“This man was revived to be the captain of the ship. Pretty skilled, but  _ slightly  _ arrogant.”

“Call me how you see fit, but I call it  _ ‘determined’ _ .” [ f/n ] makes eye contact with the man again once he starts talking to defend himself. He winked towards her direction before [ f/n ] displayed a look of disgust. She pulls her hand away, causing the man to stand to his full height and press his hat against his chest once more. 

“My apologies for the late introduction, miss. My name is Ryusui, captain of SS Soyez. Would I have the honor of knowing your name?” [ f/n ] looked at him with suspicion before taking a step back to give herself some space. 

“[ f/n ], nice to meet you.”

“My dear [ f/n ], if you would do me the honor to spare me your time. There’s something I would love to show you.”

She looked up at him with confusion, her brow rising with curiosity as he took a hold of her hand to drag her somewhere. She lets out a small yelp as she tries her best to meet his pace, Ryusui glancing over his shoulder to give her a charming smile. [ f/n ] only smiled back awkwardly as she looked back and gave a look towards Gen’s way. He quickly caught the message and hurried after the two, everyone else on stand by, not knowing what the right move was. 

Ryusui had made his way through the village, averting his attention towards the large structure built on the largest hill there was. Once [ f/n ] caught on and looked where he was looking, she blinked in awe as she couldn’t contain her shock. 

“Amazing, isn’t it? Let me show you!”

“A-Ah, wait!”

He takes her up towards the building, walking through confidently as there were already people waiting inside. After hearing the door open, they quickly bowed towards Ryusui’s direction with a lounge chair set in the middle. He makes himself comfortable as a woman soon approaches him to start fanning him, letting out a content sigh as he reaches over to grab the wine glass nearby. 

“Don’t just stand there darling, come join me!” He boasts, his laugh loud as the building nearly gave off a reverb effect. [ f/n ]’s eye seemed to twitch on its own as she crossed her arms over her chest while trying to process the situation. She closes her eyes for a moment before she turns to look over her shoulder and makes eye contact with Nikki. Reader her gaze quickly, she nods and leaves the premise in a hurry to find who she’s wanted to see. Finally, she exhales through her nose and faces Ryusui’s relaxed state, aware of the slight conversation happening on the side with Yo and Ginro. 

“So..Ryusui-san. It amazes me on how much you’ve influenced the people in such a short time. Is this magic?”

“Hah! Nonsense, my dear. And please, just call me Ryusui. There’s no need for formalities since we’re probably going to be with each other quite often now.”

He looks over at her and sends her a wink, [ f/n ] completely unfazed as her arms remain crossed. She inspects the room a bit more, noticing a few stacks of papers right beside him as he continued to drink his beverage. Taking a few steps forward, she runs her finger against the slim piece of paper and picks it up to inspect it. She traces her thumb over the dragon before Ryusui’s laughter echoes once more. 

“You’re probably curious about what that is! That, my dear, is a drago dollar bill. Tell me what you’d like and I will buy it!”

“You re-invented.. _ currency? _ For what purpose?”

“That’s a good question, [ f/n ] my dear. The value of the currency doesn’t matter, whether we have what I want or not.” Ryusui replied with an evil glint in his eye and followed with a wicked grin. [ f/n ] blinked before looking down at the piece of paper again and making eye contact with the male. 

_ ‘So it’s about the people’s trust, huh.’ _

She turns back to look towards Senku and Gen’s hunched figures, already having a feeling that they’re scheming on something by themselves. [ f/n ] stares at them for a moment before turning to look towards Nikki’s direction before she rapidly nods her head in return. Understanding what she meant, [ f/n ] turned back and placed the drago bill back onto the stack, soon looking up and giving him a smile of her own. 

Feeling a sense of pride for a moment, his cheeks blushed as he returned it with a smile while puffing out his chest. However, he felt a slight chill once he heard someone snap their fingers and all of their attention towards the subject. 

“You all have been working hard. You may take your leave except for a selective few. Thank you for treating our guest kindly.”

Those that she looked at quickly took the message and bowed their heads in return, gathering their things and taking their leave. Ryusui blinked as he looked at his surroundings and watched some of the people he hired with money starting to leave. Sitting up from his lounge chair, he continued to stare at the people in confusion before he saw the [ h/c ] haired girl take a step forward with her arms crossed over her chest. 

“If it’s the people’s trust, then you simply understand why this piece of trash is useless then?” 

[ f/n ] takes a drago dollar bill and waves it between her fingers. Ryusui stands to his feet, looking down at her as she meets his gaze. He slightly flinches from the cold chill he felt, but that didn’t stop him to nervously give her a mischievous grin.

“If that is what you seek, then you have to get through me. I mean, you said so yourself: the lion pelt on my shoulders means that I’m highly respected, aren’t I?” 

Ryusui couldn’t respond as [ f/n ] turned around to start walking away, the cloak and her hair swaying by her turn. She moves to stand beside Nikki and Minami, who had their heads bowed in return. Stopping within her steps, she turns to look at Ryusui over her shoulder and sends him one final glare.

“Senku might have revived you because he needed you, but you have to prove to me that you’re  _ needed _ here. You have until SS Soyuz is completed to convince me otherwise.”

And with her final words, she took her leave with Minami and Nikki following her. Ryusui stood there dumbfounded as Senku and Gen peered at each other with a knowing glance. They were about to snicker from behind their hands but were stopped when Ryusui had placed his hand on top of Gen’s shoulder. Flinching from the sudden weight, he looks at the taller male with some sweat running down his temple. 

“Show me where I can find the largest flower field so I can make the biggest bouquet!”

“E-Eh!? Wait, why are you suddenly interested??”

“I’m a man who doesn’t give up on what he wants and she’s made it challenging for me. And a man of my nature never backs down from a challenge.”

Ryusui smirks as the mischievous glint in his eye comes back, causing Gen and Senku to express slight disgust. Senku was annoyed to say the least but he shrugged it off in hopes that [ f/n ] will make this into an opportunity to make Ryusui run for his money. 

Going back to the three women, [ f/n ] sneezed for the umteenth time as she groans while wiping her nose. Nikki blesses her and grabs a handkerchief from her pocket, quickly handing it to her. Thanking her, [ f/n ] sniffles as Minami observes her behavior. 

“I’m surprised that you handled that well, [ f/n ]-chan.”

“Oh trust me, I was already losing my patience. How could you let Senku revive someone like  _ him!? _ ”

“I-I didn’t think he would actually revive him behind our backs! I warned him but he didn’t listen! Geez [ f/n ]-chan, you really need to control that boyfriend of yours. His face  _ literally _ screams that he’s going to scam somebody.” [ f/n ] flinches before avoiding her gaze, cheeks fuming with a bright pink color. 

“H-He’s not my boyfriend, he’s a childhood friend.”

“Uh huh, not  _ yet  _ at least. Please, [ f/n ]-chan it’s so painstakingly obvious that I would rather watch the wheat grow than watch you struggle.”

“I have to agree with Minami on this, [ f/n ]-dono. This is worse when Tsukasa was expressing his feelings to you.”

[ f/n ] merely groans at the thought as she shakes her head before the two women follow her away from the village. She had started to lead the way back to her old shack, passing by the forest as she pushed a few vines away. As they were approaching the building, [ f/n ] finally lets out a sigh before walking up to the couch and laying on it. Minami and Nikki look at each other as they shrug their shoulders, the two women chuckling from her behavior. 

“I’m going to guess that he’s the type to not ‘give up’ on things that he sets his eyes on, huh.”

“Absolutely correct.”

“Oh..I’m not going to like this..” [ f/n ] mumbled to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest. Nikki and Minami only chuckle nervously as they glance at each other, a bead of sweat rolling down their temples. [ f/n ] took note of their silence and only let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment to send a silent prayer before going on with her day. 

But as badly as she wanted to continue with her tasks, Ryusui seemed to be more interested to know what she was like. After she had stormed away from where he was, he left to get flowers to present to her not too long after. Thankfully she was accompanied by several others, Nikki taking initiative by taking the flowers from him and escorting him away. 

“I hope you like sunflowers, [ f/n ]! I shall return with more gifts, my dear!”

Having her back turned, [ f/n ] smiles stiffly as she could feel a vein pop from her temple. Minami sat next to her, looking at her with a worried expression as she reached over to rub her back soothingly to comfort her. [ f/n ] sighs as she gives her smile before facing forward and averting her attention back towards the children.

Many times later, Ryusui returned with bread and wine, asking her to join her. After politely declining, he still sends her a smile before walking off somewhere else to seem busy. But no matter what she did, Ryusui would appear with more gifts than ever. She was able to handle it and conceal her anger but Minami and Nikki were starting to see her blood boil from a distance. After nearly running away from him for the uptenth time, she calls Ukyo and a few other men, immediately showing up to her side with their heads bowed.

“You called us, [ f/n ]-dono?”

“You will be hunting soon, yes? Allow me to join you for today.”

“As you wish. Shall I grab your bow for you then?”

“No worries, I have it right he--” 

“[ f/n ]!! [ f/n ]?? I have a picnic prepared for us, my sweet!” [ f/n ] immediately flinched from the sudden call, Ukyo and the other men looked at her sudden change of attitude. She quickly steps forward and leads the way, leaving Minami and Nikki behind while waving at her. Ukyo looks up at the two women, the other men following the [ h/c ] haired girl.

“How much time do you need?”

“As much as she needs.”

“Roger.” Saluting towards the two women, Ukyo hurries over to catch up with [ f/n ] and the others as they leave to go hunting. Minami and Nikki watch them disappear from view, both women crossing their arms over their chest. 

“How long do you think [ f/n ]-dono is going to last?”

“Probably 1 week. How about you?”

“4 days.” Nikki responded with a nod as Minami hums in agreement. Letting the silence linger in the air, the both looked at each other before shaking on a silent agreement before they left to do their own tasks before waiting for [ f/n ] to return. 

The sun was starting to set, evening rolling around as people were enjoying their meals. [ f/n ] had returned with Ukyo and the others before the moon had risen, gathering together as they shared a meal. Ryusui who was already seated with a few others had invited [ f/n ] to join him, the girl taking a deep breath before giving him a polite smile and joining the group. Taking the bowl that was given to her, she starts to converse with others while Ryusui was practically the center of attention and doing his best to make himself look good in front of her. Uyko sighs before taking a seat besides Nikki and Minami, watching the scene unfold as they ate their own food.

“How was hunting?”

“It was hard finding any animals at first because she was literally scaring everything away. The only time I’ve seen her glare like that was at Homura. But thankfully we brought back a few things.”

Ukyo laughs awkwardly as he mixes the contents in his bowl. Minami only sighed to herself as she rested her elbow on her knees, looking at the poor [ h/c ] haired girl as another vein popped from her forehead. All three of them laughed softly as they watched the scene unfold, sending their condolences to the blonde haired man as they were praying for his safety. 

It wasn’t long until everyone had finished their meals, all of them soon heading towards their designated homes. Taking a deep breath, [ f/n ] stood from her seat and dusted off her dress before looking down at the rest of the group.

“Ryusui-san, if you’re finished, I can escort you to where you can stay for the night. If that’s alright with you, that is.”

“Of course! Lead me, my dear!”

Rising from his seat as well, he grins before following the [ h/c ] haired girl towards the exit. All eyes were on them before the sound of chatter was echoing from where they resided. The sound of the people started to become distant, the only sound ringing in [ f/n ]’s ears were the sound of footsteps walking along the dirt path.

“Will you be staying with me tonight, [ f/n ]?”

“No, Ryusui-san. Although it’s only been a few hours since we’ve met, I believe that it’s inappropriate for us to be sleeping under the same roof.”

“That I can agree on, yes. But I don’t want a beautiful woman like yourself to be by yourself.” Ryusui practically whispers as he places his hand on top of her shoulder. Taking note of where his hand was, she glances down at it before she reaches over and removes his hand away gently. Standing in front of a small hut, she gives him a polite smile before opening the door for him to enter. 

“It’s not much, but I hope that this will suffice. You can customize it however you like.”

“And where will you be staying? Surely you’re going to need someone to protect you throughout the--”

He was reaching out to grab her hand but before he could even touch her, [ f/n ] reached forward and pressed two fingers against his chest and kept him at a distance. Feeling the pressure, he quickly stops in his tracks and looks at her [ e/c ] colored eyes that held a bit of hostility for a split second. Noticing the slight change in the air, Ryusui chuckles nervously as he takes a cautious step back while [ f/n ] pulls her hand away from reach. Noticing that her message was reached, she sends him a smile before she slightly bows her head in return.

“Have a good night’s rest, Ryusui-san.”

“You too..” He mumbles his reply as [ f/n ] turns around to take her leave. Watching the lion pelt and her hair sway in the distance, he couldn’t stop the blush from forming on his cheeks as he sighs. Closing the door behind him, he decided to rest for the night before trying to swoon [ f/n ] again tomorrow. Meanwhile, the [ h/c ] haired girl continued to hold her chin high as she was walking back to her own quarters, a few villagers bidding her goodnight as they bowed towards her direction. Giving them a tired smile, she waves at them while they let her pass, walking up the small hill before reaching the door of her hut. Once she opens the door and closes it behind her, she lets out a tired sigh before stripping herself from the lion pelt and hanging it on top of the coat rack. Making a beeline towards the bed, she flops face first into her pillow as Senku listens from the small table that sat in front of the fireplace. 

“So did Ryusui like the hut he’s staying at? It’s kept up to his standards, correct?”

“I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“Oh come on, you can’t be mad at me for someone being ‘infatuated’ by you. That’s your  _ own _ fault.”

“You really want to die again, don’t you Senku?” Senku merely hums in response as he could feel a glare piercing the back of his head. The scientist sighs dejectedly before he turns around to meet with [ e/c ] eyes glaring at him from the bed, the girl hugging a pillow close to her chest, still glaring. Senku scoffs as he gets up from his spot and walks over, the [ h/c ] haired girl shuffling on top of the bed until he gets close enough to notice the pout formed on her lips. She lets out an angry ‘humph!’ while turning away, hugging the pillow even closer.

“Come on, it won’t be that bad. All you have to do is endure it until we finish up the hot air balloon, okay?”

“And how much progress have you made so far?”

“We need 50 more stacks of flax to make more cloth.” Senku raises his hand as [ f/n ] gives him a blank look, blinking towards his direction before laying on her side with her back facing him. 

“You’re on your own, Senku.”

“Oh my god, [ f/n ] don’t do this. The balloon will be done before you know it! I’m sure that you’ll be able to tame Ryusui once we’re done with our plan. So just a few more days, okay?”

[ f/n ] continued to face away from him, wrapping the blanket around her as she peers over her shoulder. Senku looks at her, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as he lets out an annoyed huff. Meeting her gaze, he leans forward as his knee meets the futon and his lips make contact with her forehead. Feeling his lips pressed against her skin, she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them once he pulled away. Senku looked down at her as she turned over to meet his gaze, staring at each other as silence filled the room. The soft pink color coated her cheeks as the both gazed at each other’s lips, Senku slightly blushing from the position he put himself in. Staring at each other for a bit longer, [ f/n ] blinks back into reality before she turns away to hide herself within the blanket she used.

“Only for a few more days.” She whispers before Senku smiles at the cute action. He reaches out to gently tickle her cheek, making her turn over again. Senku leans forward and nuzzles his nose against hers, [ f/n ]’s cheeks blossoming into a dark pink as he pulls away with the smile on his lips.

“Thank you.” He replies softly as he gazes into [ e/c ] colored orbs. Before she could reply, he pulled away to get back to working on his blueprints. [ f/n ] watches from where she laid, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself before hiding from embarrassment.

If it meant for Senku, then she was willing to try. But despite having the motivation to do her best, [ f/n ] was only able to last for 2 more days before Ukyo and Taiju had to hold her back from preventing a murder from happening.

**_~~~_ **

While [ f/n ] kept Ryusui busy and had him run around to find her, Senku’s plan with obtaining flax was going accordingly. After giving the template for the balloon to Yuzuriha and her craftsman group, Senku lets out a sigh before crossing his arms and thinking about what to do next. Gen moves to stand beside him, folding his hands inside his sleeves with a smile on his face.

“Where is [ f/n ]?”

“She’ll be leaving to go back to the village. She’s currently packing the rest of the food before heading out.”

“You know Senku-chan..”

“I know that [ f/n ] is mad at me for having to deal with Ryusui by herself but I know she can handle it.” Gen chuckles awkwardly as he tilts his head to the side for a moment, recalling the angry expression she wore on her face when he mentioned Senku’s name earlier. But once he shook the thought away, Gen looked back at the white haired scientist while he was talking to Chrome and Ukyo about their mission. As soon as he was finishing up describing their task, [ f/n ] started to walk up towards the group with her gear. Kohaku stood by, holding her weapon and her traveling satchel before nodding her head towards the rest of the men.

“Senku, I need to speak with you.”

As soon as [ f/n ] had said Senku’s name, everyone flinched and watched the white haired scientist nod before picking his ear. He followed her until they were alone; Chrome, Ukyo, Gen and Kohaku watching them until they were out of sight. As they awkwardly stood by each other, they all simultaneously looked at each other before understanding what each person was thinking.

_ ‘We should check up on Senku.’ _

Nodding in unison, they slowly crept towards the area the pair walked off, making sure not to make too much noise as they came into view. [ f/n ] and Senku came into view, all four of them hiding from behind a bush while they watched them converse with each other. 

“Ukyo, can you hear what they’re talking about?”

“As much as I don’t want to, they’re just talking about what’s [ f/n ]-dono’s plan once she arrives.”

Ukyo sweats as he laughs nervously, Kohaku scratching her cheek while Chrome turns his head to try and listen in. Gen hums as he continues to have his focus on the pair just like everyone else. [ f/n ] nods to something Senku said, the [ h/c ] haired girl replying to his statement. Then all four ‘friends’ eyes widen when Senku gives her a genuine smile before placing his hand on her hip. [ f/n ] pouts from embarrassment before looking away, pressing her hand against his chest as Senku’s free hand tickles her cheek. 

“Wh-What is he..”

Senku leans forward to whisper something to [ f/n ], earning a laugh from her end before placing her hand on his chest. Senku chuckles before leaning forward and nuzzling his nose against hers, earning a smile in return. Once all four friends witnessed the act, they all slowly took a step back from their hiding spot to leave them be. They all walked away in silence, heading back to their original spot as an awkward silence enveloped the atmosphere.

“They literally did..nothing and I felt like I walked into something super intimate..” Chrome explained as the others agreed, a blush coating their cheeks from embarrassment. Soon enough, Senku and [ f/n ] returned from their ‘discussion’ and greeted everyone. Taking their final look at their supplies; Ukyo, Chrome, Kohaku and [ f/n ] set off to head back to Ishigami Village. Gen waves while they walk past the main gate, Senku exhaling through his nose before he places his hands hips and turns to look at Gen.

“Alright, let’s get that hot air balloon started.”

“Ah yes, more work it seems.”

As Senku and the others left to get to work, the traveling group were taking their time heading back to the village. The scenery was so beautiful that [ f/n ] wished she had a camera to capture the moment. They look out towards the vast forest, inhaling softly before exhaling with a content sigh. Kohaku took out her telescope, scoping out the area as Chrome was looking down at the map Senku made. [ f/n ] passed around a bamboo flask filled with water to the others, grabbing one herself to hydrate after the long hike. 

“From the looks of it, Senku’s map looks completely off.”

“Do you think he drew it wrong?”

“Well it’s not like we can help with locating anything since everything from 3,700 years ago is completely gone.” Ukyo sighed as he looked at the view of the waterfall. [ f/n ] nodded her head in agreement as she placed her water away. Chrome sighs before slowly defending down the cliff they were on, his steps carefully checking each stone he stepped on. 

“Since forever, the west side of Ishigami Village has been precarious. I haven’t even fully explored it—AAAAHH!!”

“Chrome!!”

While he was climbing down the side of the cliff, his foot accidentally slipped and caused him to fall. Thankfully it wasn’t that far from the ground and Chrome only had a few scratches on his hands. [ f/n ] reaches into her satchel and grabs some rope, tossing it down to Chrome as she starts to pull him up. Kohaku points out towards the distance, Ukyo looking at her while she explains her statement. 

“Using that “biggest mountain” as a landmark, from the west of there it’s all wild.”

Both Ukyo and [ f/n ] turn to look at the direction Kohaku was pointing, pulling Chrome up to safety. [ f/n ] gasped as her and Ukyo stood to their feet, [ f/n ] bringing her hands to cover her mouth in shock. 

“Of course..I guess we’ve been so engrossed with our own doings, we forgot to relax and take in what’s around us.”

“I agree..”

Ukyo and [ f/n ] smile as they look at the other two, giving them a firm nod before they continue on with their travels. It wasn’t until they settled into a secluded forest where they decided to take their rest, Chrome assembling the mobile phone to connect with Senku. It took a few rings before he finally answered, the setting sun coloring the blue sky an orange hue. 

_ “Ah, I see. So the coastline is pretty torn up.” _

“Inland of it as well.”

_ “Why is that?” _

_ “It’s simple if you think about it, as it only happens once every few hundred years. A major eruption of Mount Fuji.” _

[ f/n ] hums in agreement as he goes on with his explanation to Gen who was trying his best to keep up with the amount of information he was spewing. But once the call had started to get comfortable, [ f/n ] perked up with a question of her own.

“How’s the hot air balloon coming along?”

_ “Ah. We finished it.”  _ At this, Chrome practically yanks the phone away from Ukyo’s hands and leans close to it. HIs eyes were nearly bulging out of his eyes as he shook with anticipation.

“YOU FINISHED THE BALLOON!? I’M ON THE WAY!”

“Wait, Chrome! We’re almost at the village and you’re just going to wa--and there he goes.” Kohaku tried to stop him but he quickly gathered his things, taking a large branch and made his way back to their home base. [ f/n ] and Ukyo stood in shock as they processed what had just happened, letting out a tired sigh as they looked down at the device left in their hands. 

“Well..you heard him, Senku. He’ll be there before you know it.”

_ “I’ll keep that in mind. You guys get some rest so you’ll have energy to travel.” _

“Alright, see you soon.”

As the call had ended, [ f/n ] disassembled the device before Kohaku had left their side to put out the fire. Making themselves comfortable within their own spots, [ f/n ] quietly sighed to herself before staring at the night sky above them. Rustling was heard as [ f/n ] turned towards the noise, Ukyo settling himself against the tree. 

“I can take the first night shift, [ f/n ]-dono.”

“I can take the second so you can at least get some rest as well.”

“No need, I can rest up back at the village. Please get some rest while you can.” Giving him one last look, she finally gives in and decides to nestle herself into her sleeping bag. But before closing her eyes, she looks over her shoulder and gives him one last smile.

“At least get some shut eye so you can help me carry our things tomorrow.”

“Understood. I’ll keep that in mind.” Nodding to his response, she rests her head against the pillow and closes her eyes shut. Her mind soon drifts off towards the infamous white haired scientist and his gentle smile that he’s only shared with her, quickly making her smile. Letting out a content sigh she lets her conscious slip before finally getting a goodnight’s rest. 

**~~~**   
  


“[ f/n ]-dono! You’ve arrived! Welcome!”

“Please, you don’t have to welcome me everytime Hikari-san. You should be resting that knee of yours.” [ f/n ] smiles as she enters the Ishigami village with Ukyo and Kohaku, the two placing their things down while she was greeting the villagers. She has a bright smile on her face as she makes her way towards the village elder, bowing her head to give her respects. 

They bow in return, a toothy grin placed on their lips as she smiles back before turning to look at the rest of the small crowd. 

“I’ll start making preparations for the feast in a moment. Ukyo-kun, Kohaku; could you gather the rest of the villagers while I set everything up?”

“Yes, [ f/n ]-dono/Sensei.”

Smiling at the two, she decided to make her way towards her office building, noticing the small wheat farm coming into view. She walks up towards the back, the sheep noticing her presence and standing from its spot. Her smile brightens up as she walks over to pet the sheep, the animal responding to her affection by giving her some of its own.

“Ah, it’s nice to see you again Poyo.” 

While preparations are being made, she enters her office and sighs with content from the familiar room. Allowing to hang the lion pelt on a chair she starts getting to work on some meals that she can make easily. The wheat that was being grown in the back was ready to be picked, giving [ f/n ] a chance to start on a new batch of bread to go with their meal. As she was making her way inside, Ukyo appeared and pushed the curtain away to walk in.

“The table is all set up, [ f/n ]-dono. Shall I get the other things?”

“Ah, yes. If you could grab the medical supplies on the far left, that would be great too. I’ll be baking the last batch of bread so I will join you soon.”

Following her orders, Ukyo grabs what she mentions and starts heading back towards the village, [ f/n ] humming a soft tune to herself. As she was gathering the last of the home made food, she takes a hold of the wooden tray and makes her way outside. However, once she was walking towards the bridge, she could see an enormous shadow passing by. She looks up from her spot and watches the large balloon passing her, making a smile form on her face as she lets out a chuckle. 

“Really this guy..always making a huge scene..”

Watching the balloon land in the middle of the village, Kohaku had climbed on top of a roof to help bring their anchor down to the ground. Ukyo had also helped Chrome tie the ropes in place so it was kept sturdy as it landed on the ground safely. 

“Welcome back.”

“[ F/N ]!! SO YOU’VE COME TO WELCOME MY RETURN!!”

“ACK!! U-Ukyo-kun!!”

As soon as his name was called, Ukyo jumped behind Ryusui and took him down before the man could even touch [ f/n ]. She held onto her tray for dear life before letting out a sigh of relief. She looked at Ryusui give Ukyo a huge pout, the man looking back towards her direction as she placed the tray of food on the table. 

“What is this, are you hosting a feast?”

“Yes, when the crops are fully grown, I make meals for the villagers to regulate their diet. I’ve been looking after the older citizens, keeping a track of their heart rate for a few months now and stumbled upon a large intake of methylmercury in a few of them.”

“I see..I also assume that many villagers have passed from starvation as well.” Ryusui looked around the group of villagers chatting, eating the meals that [ f/n ] had made while smiling with tears of joy. [ f/n ] nods and hums in response, turning back to give a plate of food to a crying child behind her. The child smiles and thanks her before running off to sit with their friends and share amongst themselves.

“I can only make these meals when the wheat is fully grown, and it takes a rather long time since I also preserve the other half to grow more. But if this continues, I’m not sure if I can continue making any more meals other than bread.”

Ryusui looks down as he clenches his clothes, slowly turning to look towards the white haired scientist who had taken a seat in front of the large amounts of food, eating his own meal. “Senku..how long..are we going to stay in the village..?”

“Hm? Who knows? Until we find oil. One year? Maybe two?” At this point, Ryusui grins as he looks towards the night sky, his hands placed on his hips as he points out towards the distance. 

“HAHA!! Then we’ll find food ingredients as well!! We can do it!! We will do it!! We’ve got to..we’ve just got to!!”

“Y’know his greediness can actually lead to some good points, but I must say - it’s pretty hard to keep up with despite only being away for a few weeks.” Ukyo states as [ f/n ] nods in agreement, handing a plate of food to Ukyo while she takes a bite from her own. Senku simply rises from his spot to give him an encouraging pat on the back while egging him further on what he’d want to find. 

As [ f/n ] sat back while watching the two banter, she couldn’t help but smile and let out a giggle of her own as she was amused by the exchange. She also looked up towards the sky while basking in the faint noise of laughter and music filling the air, the atmosphere light and pleasant. [ f/n ] lets out a content exhale before her eyes were met with bright red ones. She meets Senku’s gaze, slightly surprised that she caught him staring at her. Her cheeks fluster for a moment as she turns away, unaware that Senku decided to sit beside her while facing the bonfire. He greeted her and subtly sat closer to her than he would to anybody and continued his conversation with Chrome. All the while he had his gaze turned away, his hand subtly found hers, tickling the back of her hand just like how they’ve always communicated in secret. Feeling the familiar tickle, [ f/n ] brings her legs to her chest as she smiles into her knees while weaving her fingers through his. Their linked hands were hid behind their backs, nobody aware of the action at all. 

However, as the two parties were minding their own business, another party stuck out while he sat next to Chrome as his gaze was purely fixated on the [ h/c ] haired girl and white haired scientist. 

As his saying goes; he is a very greedy man and he will do anything to get what he wants. And nothing was  _ ever _ going to stop him. 


	22. Chapter 22

“Brioche! Sfogliatella! Pain au Chocolat! We can make them all! Mwhaha!!”

[ f/n ] crossed her arms as she stood beside Kohaku and Senku while they were watching Ryusui continue to spew random words into the sky. Senku has a deadpan look as he takes a step forward, his brow raised as he asks what everyone was thinking. 

“And who the heck is going to make all of the fancy smancy bread? Besides, I said we need storable food. That means hardtack.”

“[ f/n ] my dear—“

“Don’t even think about asking me. I can cook, but that’s not my current role. I’m a medic after all, so I have to look after the elderly while the Perseus is in the works. And despite having the ingredients, I’m only one person. I don’t think I can make this much food without any help anyways.” She replied, cutting off the blonde haired captain as she held her hand up.

“[ f/n ] is right, we can’t just keep asking her to do all the cooking when she’s in charge of something else. Besides, I don’t think we’ll have enough wheat to make a ton of bread.”   


Ryusui merely laughs and snaps his fingers, his wide grin shining as the others were thinking what to do with the wheat that they had. “And that is precisely why we need agriculture!!”

“Are we going to plant the seeds near the village?”

“The small field that [ f/n ] had going is enough for her alone, but I don’t think it will be enough to start a whole farm. However, it’s way too close to the mountains. It will be really difficult to get a good water supply here. If we wanna make fields, we need to go to the Kanto plains. Taiju and the gorilla team can handle them!”

Kohaku nods as she starts to gather the rest of the team, a smile on her face as [ f/n ] helped her with her things. While taking the initiative to help the others for their trip, Ryusui merely peers from where he stood as he let his eyes wander towards the [ h/c ] haired girl. She was having a conversation with Ukyo and Chrome, a laugh escaping her lips as her shoulders shook from her laughter. Ryusui stood there in a daze, unaware of the presence that stood next to him. The person placed their hand on his shoulder, catching his attention and making him turn around. He was met with red eyes, the white haired scientist letting his shoulder go as they stared at each other. 

“Senku! Is there an issue?”

“You know, you can just tell her that you want to date. There’s no point in sugar coating it if you’re just going to shower her with pointless gifts.”

“Surely she loves the gifts I give her, no? I mean, who  _ wouldn’t _ love them?”

“[ f/n ], obviously.” Senku snorts as his shoulders shake from the joke he made. Ryusui huffs as he crosses his arms over his chest, finally facing the white haired scientist fully. Senku noticed the change within his attitude and forced himself to calm down before standing tall and placing his hands on his hips while meeting his gaze.

“And what makes you say that, Senku? As far as I heard, you profusely claim that you’re so invested within your science projects that you don’t have time to think about women. “

“And if my theory is correct, then you should be able to tell when a woman isn’t interested, considering that you’ve been around them more than I have.”

Senku shrugs as he leans on one leg, his right pinky picking his ear as a smug smirk was placed on his lips. Ryusui can feel a vein popping out from his temple, feeling the anger course through his body. Senku then turns around to leave, looking over his shoulder to give Ryusui his final thoughts. 

“Anyways, do yourself a favor and don’t waste time for either of you. I’m sure that you two will work better as companions than a couple.” 

“You think she’s going to reject me? Why are you so confident??”

Senku stood there with his back still turned as he looked at the ground. He replayed the question in his mind on repeat before he turns to look at him from over his shoulder again. His lips for a smirk as his hand stops picking his ear and to rest on his hips.

“Because she has me.”

Ryusui stood there dumbfounded while Senku huffs confidently before walking away from him to work on something else. The blonde haired captain blinked in disbelief before shaking his head to bring him back to reality. At this point, a fire was burning inside him as he quickly turned to look for the [ h/c ] haired girl. Still in the same spot, she had waved towards Chrome’s direction as he was about to leave and follow Senku back towards the lab. Taking a deep breath, Ryusui took confident steps towards the girl, soon coming into her peripheral vision.

“[ f/n ]!” Despite that she saw him coming, she still flinched from the sudden shout and faced him with a surprised expression. She clears her throat before turning to fully face him, crossing her arms over her chest as she answers his call.

“Yes, Ryusui-san? Can I help you?” He looks at her for a moment before sensing someone’s gaze on him. Taking a glance, he notices that Senku was peering towards their direction and for some reason, he could feel a slight chill running down his spine. He takes a deep breath before meeting [ f/n ]’s gaze again, making her raise her brow in confusion.

“I would like to speak with you, if that’s alright.”

Blinking in shock from the sudden change of attitude, [ f/n ] looks up at him and gazes towards his serious expression before letting out a sigh of her own. She nods her head and tells him to follow her, the [ h/c ] haired girl turning away to lead the way back to her office. As Ryusui followed behind, Chrome,. Uyko, Senku and the others watched the interaction until they were out of sight. 

“Do you think [ f/n ]-dono is going to be okay?”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She can handle herself so let’s worry more about what we’re going to do next.”

Senku calls out as he turns around to head back towards the balloon. But before he fully leaves, he steals one last glance towards [ f/n ]’s hut and clenches the paper within his hands, facing forward and getting to work. 

Going back towards the other two, [ f/n ] opens the door and lets Ryusui in first, giving him a chance to observe her work space. He looks around, walking towards the beds and placing a hand over the covers before taking a seat on them.

“Did you make all of this?”

“I’ve had some help with the lifting but the majority is made by me, yes.” [ f/n ] replies as she walks over towards her cupboards and fetches for cups and starts making tea for her guest. While she was prepping the snacks and tea, Ryusui sat quietly while he waited for her to finish up the tea. She gets the tray and walks over to sit in front of him, placing the tea in front of him as well before taking a piece of the bread she made. 

“So, what would you like to talk about?” He looked down at the cup of tea that she gave him while [ f/n ] gazed at him from the brim of her cup. He takes a sip from the drink and sighs contently before placing it on the table once more.

“[ f/n ], I will say this up front: Will you go out with me?”

“No.”

Ryusui nearly fell over his seat as his leg twitches while [ f/n ] continued to sip from her tea, placing her cup back down on the table. Ryusui quickly composed himself and shook his head, looking at [ f/n ] with a bit of anger.

“At least don’t drop the bomb on me like that!! Give me some pity!!” [ f/n ] laughs before letting her touch linger on her cup, looking up to give Ryusui a small smile before placing her hands on her lap. 

“I didn’t mean to reject you flatly, please let me explain.” She looks down at her hands before folding them, her thumbs fiddling before she looks up towards the sailor. 

“I really appreciate the gifts that you gave me, they were lovely. But sadly, I can’t accept them for that purpose. My heart is already taken by someone else and despite the current circumstances, we mutually agreed to set it aside for now to take care of the situation at hand.”

Ryusui sat there for a moment, humming in response to her answer. A silence filled the room and [ f/n ] looked up from her lap with a bit of anxiousness as she tried her best to read his expression. However, Ryusui pats his lap with a joyous laugh, catching her off guard as he finally looks at her with a smile.

“Well, I accept this rejection! It’s a bit heartbreaking but I’m glad I listened to Senku’s advice to talk things out with you first.”

“Ah..thank you..”

“You know, you’re the first woman to reject someone like me so you should be proud! Tell that to the other women who are fond of me!” [ f/n ] chuckles before shaking her head, taking a hold of her cup and smiling against the brim of it while she drinks her tea. 

“So, how long have you and Senku been together?”

Nearly spitting out her tea in surprise, Ryusui realized his mistake as he quickly grabbed a clean cloth to give her. Thanking him meekly, she uses the cloth and wipes her mouth, a pink blush coating her cheeks as she looks away with embarrassment. Ryusui sits back down and observes her shy form, taking it all in before it goes away. Clearing her throat, she places the cloth down before composing herself once more.

“Officially? Umm..we haven’t really formally talked about it. Only briefly, but we had to worry about Hyoga-kun during that time.”

“Wha--so you two just let it be!? How could he!! Don’t worry, [ f/n ]! I’ll make sure that when Senku confesses his feelings, it's going to be the grandest thing!! Just you wait! I’m going to cook you two a wondrous meal!”

“A-Ah wait! Ryusui-kun! I don’t think he’s--and he’s gone. Oh lord..” [ f/n ] could probably see the frames of Ryusui rising from his seat and running out of the building. She continues to sit there before letting out a tired sigh and collecting all the dishes before placing in a small bucket of water for later. Leaving the hut, she finally met up with Chrome and Ukyo who stood by, watching Senku and Ryusui arguing about something. 

“Umm..is everything okay over there?”

“Well, what did you two talk about, [ f/n ]-dono?”

“I just formally rejected him and he asked about Senku.”

“Ah..I see..” Ukyo nods as he holds his chin. Chrome looked at the two of them in confusion while trying to figure out what’s going on. He was about to ask what they initially meant until a puff of black smoke emerged from the workstation not too far away. All of them jumped from their spot as they quickly ran towards the scene, looking at the two men who were looking down at the table in utter defeat. They all peered down towards the black smoking object that was on the table, [ f/n ]’s eye slightly twitching by having an idea what it was. Chrome takes a step forward and breaks a piece off before putting it into his mouth. He nearly turns purple before barfing out the residue in a bush, Ukyo and [ f/n ] witnessing the whole scene.

“Did you really just.. _ waste _ wheat..?”

“WE NEED A PROFESSIONAL COOK, NOW!!”

“And there they go..” Before any action could be done, [ f/n ] quickly grabs the two men at fault by the collars of their shirts and pulls them back. They look behind them after feeling a deathly aura, immediately flinching from their spot once they made eye contact with [ f/n ]’s gaze. They sat there in silence as [ f/n ] started to lecture them about wasting ingredients and how they should be more aware of their actions when it comes to making anything. Once the lecture was over, [ f/n ] released the two men and leaned against the work table and left them to make their phone call.

“If you’re going to revive someone then make sure it’s somebody who knows how to  _ properly  _ measure the ingredients rather than  _ wasting _ them. Got it?”

“Ye-Yes Ma’am!!” 

Both men saluted before running off to make their phone call back towards home base. [ f/n ] exhales once more before pinching the bridge of her nose as she opens her eyes to gaze towards the two ‘idiots’. She watches Senku fiddle with the telephone before speaking into the speaker, laughing and explaining something further to the person on the other end. She couldn’t stop the smile forming on her lips as she felt her cheeks heat up just the slightest. 

“Ukyo-kun, if you don’t mind helping me what other ingredients you were able to gather, that would be amazing.”

“Yes, [ f/n ]-dono. Let me show you what we’ve retrieved so far.” The male then leads the way, the [ h/c ] haired girl walking behind him as he was showcasing the goats first. After some time, Ukyo also explained the map they made which helped mark up the area. She nods her head as she listens to the explanation while making some mental notes until rustling was heard within the bushes. Both Ukyo and [ f/n ] look up from the map and see a blonde haired man or woman walking towards the stone oven, Gen panting right behind them.

“G-Gen!? Did you walk all the way here??”

“Th-They...ahh..”

“Here, take a seat first. Let’s get you some water.” [ f/n ] quickly guides the dual haired man towards a chair, Ukyo leaving their side to grab him some water. Once he handed Gen the bamboo flask, he nearly chugged the whole thing before exhaling loudly. Letting his head rest, he nearly had circles in his eyes before he was able to compose himself completely.

“Is that person the one that Ryusui-kun wanted?”

“Ye-Yes..they’re Ryusui-chan’s..personal butler..” [ f/n ] hummed as she observed them walking around the outdoor kitchen, mixing something in the bowl before taking the contents out and folding the dough. She blinked in surprise as she excused herself before walking over to Ryusui’s butler and observing their work closely. Taking the small cup she had placed elsewhere, she gently placed it onto the table while the person was folding the dough. They took note of the cup, looking at the contents before looking up at her. She smiles in return and points towards the dough after pointing at the cup.

“This is my secret stash of sugar that I keep away from the others. It’s not too late to add this in if you’d like.”

“Thank you very much, miss?”

“[ f/n ]. And yours?”

“Francios. It’s a pleasure meeting you, Master [ f/n ].” 

The girl smiles as she nods her head in agreement, making small talk while they continue to make the bread that Senku had asked for. As Francois places the dough into the oven, they sigh tiredly as they wipe their sweat with a handkerchief. [ f/n ] reached over to hand them a bamboo flask, bowing their head as they accepted it from her. They were able to get into a conversation amongst themselves, enjoying their company as they waited for the bread to finish cooking. Immersed within their own conversation, Senku and Ryusui observed their work station while Ryusui smirks with confidence. 

“Well, what do you think? Francois is the best!”

“They can cook far better than I can imagine. I must admit, a wise choice for you to revive. Good job.”

[ f/n ] compliments as she continues to eat her bread. Both men sigh with relief as they could feel their souls coming back to their bodies. As [ f/n ] leaves to speak with Francois about possible meals in the future, Senku and Ryusui leave to speak with someone over the phone. Not long after, the sound of a revved up engine is heard in the distance with the ground shaking just a bit. The sound gets louder and louder until a large vehicle appears from behind the bushes and forest. Stumbling a bit from the massive shift, Francios and Ukyo were the ones to help her keep balance as the large vehicle stopped to park. Quickly thanking them as she holds onto their extended arms, she looks at the two guests getting out of the car. 

“Minami, you’re here!”

“[ f/n ]-chan, as much as I’d love to stay and chat with you, your boyfriend and I need to talk.” [ f/n ] blinks before slightly blushing and trying to refuse but her friend brushed it off. She gave her shoulder a pat before walking up to the white haired scientist and placed her hands on her hips before speaking. She watched them bickering at each other for a moment before Senku nodded and walked off towards his lab. Talking a few steps to stand beside Minami, the blonde haired woman exhales confidently before looking at her [ h/c ] colored friend. 

“And what was the issue exactly?”

“When Senku wanted to revive Francois, I helped by offering my emergency revival fluid in exchange for a camera.”

[ f/n ] nods her head as she then takes a hold of Minami’s hand. While they were waiting for the boys to finish up making the camera, [ f/n ] thought it’d be a nice idea to show her around the area. [ f/n ] first shows her towards the new baking station, Francois already ready with a fresh plate of bread. The blond haired girl sighs with delight as she eats the food, making light jokes with her [ h/c ] haired friend as they sit down to have tea. While they were keeping themselves busy, Senku soon walks up to the duo and places his free hand on his hip to present the finished product. Seeing the familiar device, Minami abruptly stands to her feet as she slowly takes the device, an endless amount of tears rolling down her cheeks as she clutches it close to her chest. Minami falls to her knees, [ f/n ] soon rising to her feet to place a comforting hand on shoulders. 

“Senku..thank you. With this..I’ll make sure to..document every single thing..”

“Hahaha! Splendid! Well then, I’ll buy up the rights to be the model for the first documented photo!”

“Why does the first photograph gotta be you!?”

“What are you saying? It’s to be a record of the start of scientific civilization! Which means it’s got to be Senku!” From the mention of his name, the white haired scientist peered at Ryusui with a confused look. Minami was about to retort but closed her mouth and tapped her chin with her finger.

“Actually you aren’t wrong..”

“I assumed that Master Ryusui was going to mention this. Please excuse me Master Senku, I have a few ideas to help with this situation.”

“HAHA That’s Francois for you!!” Francois had walked over to grab some bags from the car, walking over to Senku who had the most unamused look of all time. [ f/n ] did her best to prevent herself from bursting out of laughter, only for her to struggle even more once she witnessed Senku trying on different outfits. Out of frustration, Senku strips from the modern clothes and changes back to his robe, making his way towards the hot air balloon to start work.

“Forget it, if you want to take a picture, just take it already.”

“AT LEAST POSE JUST THIS ONE TIME!!” After calming down, an idea comes up inside [ f/n ]’s head as she takes a step to stand beside her friend. “Why don’t you just do  _ that _ pose?” 

“Ah! That’s the one!” 

And with the help of Francois fixing his hair, the photo was taken and Senku and the others were able to take off on the hot air balloon. [ f/n ] had decided to stay behind and help develop the photo with Minami, Chrome and Kiseki gently placing the piece of glass inside a box of liquid Senku had pre-mixed. As Chrome stirred the liquid around the glass piece, he waited for a few more minutes and slowly took the glass out. Blinking and smiling with amazement, the picture was soon processed and visibly showed an image of Senku in return. Chrome looked at the pose and tiled his head in confusion, staring at the photo.

“Oh all poses, why this one? It looks kind of..weird.”

“People in the modern world would understand but it’s the pose of the world’s famous scientist.” [ f/n ] peers down at the photo and simply smiles, a soft giggle escaping her lips from the silliness he showed. Her gaze softens as she stands straighter and claps her hands to gather everyone’s attention. 

“Alright! Now with a new discovery, let us continue to work hard to get this ship up and running! Let’s go!”

Feeling the sense of motivation, others had joined her cheer as they were pumped up to continue working. Minami looked at that moment before grabbing a new set of film and capturing the right moment. Pulling the device away, she dips the film into the small bucket and pulls it out to process the photo. She stares at the image of [ f/n ]’s lion pelt swaying in the wind as her fist rose in the air with many others. 

“I will definitely document our history with this.”

**_~~~~~~_ **

Just like how Minami proclaimed, she had made sure to document every single thing. She captured the first children’s school, the wheat farm and even the large contraption Senku and Kiseki made together with iron. But her favorites were photos of [ f/n ] and Senku together, whether it be holding hands and her personal favorite: Eskimo kisses. After witnessing a few of these rare moments, Minami had realized this was their unique way of showing affection and she’s never fangirled more than now. She was caught several times but thankfully [ f/n ] spared her life by agreeing that she shouldn’t waste film on something non-historic. However, Minami thought otherwise. As she looks at her board of photos, she places her hand against the wood before closing her eyes to give herself a moment. Feeling a sense of emotions wave over her, she lets out a sniffle before wiping her face from any sort of tears. She hears a soft knock against the wall, making her quickly compose herself and gently taps her cheeks to feel awake. 

“Minami-chan? Are you in here?”

“[ f/n ]-chan. Sorry, did you need me?”

As she turned around to face her, she noticed that [ f/n ] was looking at the board of pictures behind her. The [ h/c ] haired girl doesn’t say much as she walks forward to place her own hand on the board too. 

“These photos turned out nicely.” As she compliments her friend’s work, she turns to look at her and blinks when she sees her shoulder shake a bit. Leaving to stand in front of her, she places her hands on her arms as she inspects any sign of discomfort. 

“Wh-What’s wrong, Minami-chan? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“N-No it’s just..” Minami quickly wipes her face again but fails to do so as she feels more tears starting to fall. [ f/n ] patiently waits for her to collect herself, still having her hands on her arms as she sees her finally meet her gaze. 

“It really has been a year and everyone will be leaving soon..” Minami gives [ f/n ] a sad smile before reaching out to wrap her arms around her neck. [ f/n ] blinks as she softly wraps her arms around her friend, the girl finally letting her tears go as she softly sobs into her shoulder.

“I know that we need to find the source, but I’m really worried about you guys..please come back safely..” After hearing her confession, [ f/n ] smiled before hugging her tighter and closing her eyes shut.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be back in no time.”

As [ f/n ] had stayed behind to comfort her friend, Senku and the others were making the final touches as they stood back to look at their completed work. Ryusui let out a satisfied sigh as he placed his hands on his hips, a grin etching his features as he stood next to the white haired scientist. “One year has passed..and here we are at the finish. It went by a lot faster than I expected.”

“Come on, everyone! Let’s all huddle together for a picture!” Hearing a voice call from behind him, Senku turns to watch [ f/n ] emerge from the small crowd as she waves people over. Tilting his head in confusion for a bit he makes eye contact with her and notices that she’s subtly pointing her finger towards Minami. She was talking to Francois who had previously set up a timer for her camera, [ f/n ] walking up to stand beside him. 

“Nothing wrong with documenting history, right Senku?”

He stares at her as she fixes her hair, every last one getting in place for the picture to be taken. Turning to take a glance at Minami, he chuckles before placing his hand on [ f/n ]’s hip and catching her by surprise. She blushes into a red hue as she turns to look at him, Senku facing forward and placing his other hand on his hip. 

“Today marks the day of humanity’s greatest accomplishment. And we’ll be sure to come back from the other side of the world to celebrate it.”

Listening to his retort, [ f/n ] couldn’t help but smile before making herself comfortable and getting ready to smile for the camera. Not having to reply, Senku gently squeezes her hip as the photo was taken with their pride and joy: Perseus. As the camera clicks to capture the moment, the group starts to slowly disperse as they each leave to sort out preparations for their trip. The ship was slowly being guided towards the water, Senku gathering his thoughts before standing on a large stone to als his final speech. 

“Since we started this project..one year ago, everyone might have made their resolve. But today, this is the last of us. We’ll be divided into two completely separate teams. The ‘World-Adventure team’ to seek out the petrifaction mystery and the ‘Humanity Development team’ to remain at our base.”

“HAHA!! And I, as captain have taken the liberty of compiling a list of those to embark!! Obviously this mission into unexplored territory is incredibly dangerous! There’s a chance we never make it back. Therefore if anyone I call wishes to stay, then stay! This is for you alone to decide!!”

As Ryusui states the rules, he unrolls the scroll in his hand, the slight tension in the air as everyone was anticipating who’s name he was going to call first. Soon Senku and Gen peer from the side, looking as suspicious as always as they wiggled around the crowd. 

“Aaah please keep your lovely opinions to yourselves. If you say you’re necessary and we still trick you to come along, we’ll take you regardless! You can’t escape the ship once you’re on!”

“Leave the dirty work to me!~ Even though I don’t want to be held responsible!”

Hearing the duo manipulate the crowd eased the tension, causing a few to laugh; [ f/n ] included. She stood beside Minami who held her camera, ready to take more pictures of members boarding. She looks at her friend before taking a hold of her hand, catching her attention. She brings up a small case of film, giving her a shy smile as she looks at her camera. 

“As embarrassing as it sounds, would you take a picture with me before you leave? You know, since you’re my first friend and all..” [ f/n ] blinks and grins, taking a hold of her hand and agreeing to her idea. 

“A group photo is a great idea! Can I bring the other girls as well?”

Minami shyly nods as [ f/n ] tells her to wait and walks off to call for Yuzuriha and Nikki. As she brings them over, Minami calls Francois over to take the photo. He bows before carefully holding the device and looks up to make sure everyone is ready. 

“Capturing the picture in 3, 2, 1!” As soon as the count down hit one, all four women smiled at the camera as they held each other close. After Francois pulls away, he takes a step forward to hand the device to Minami. 

“You all better come back so we can all take another one, okay?”

“You bet!”

“Definitely!”

“You know it.” [ f/n ] smiles as Minami chokes until she wraps them in the tightest hug she can muster. Yuzuriha, Minami, and Nikki laugh as [ f/n ] was also trying to make sure the camera didn’t slip from Minami’s grip. 

“First! We have the absolute necessary! Ship Engineers!!” 

At the sound of Ryusui’s voice, the women turn while listening intently for their names to be called. [ f/n ] turns to look at Minami and hold her free hand, giving her a smile once more. 

“I’ll see you soon, Minami-chan.” The girl looks at her and nods, a bright smile on her face as [ f/n ] faces forward and makes eye contact with Ryusui for a moment. The man smirks as he looks at her name on the list, calling her name loud and clear. 

“Medic! [ f/n ]!”

The [ h/c ] makes her way to board the ship, a few people cheering as they waved at her. She turns and waves at the others while walking up the ramp to board the ship. Senku reaches out his hand towards her to help her aboard, [ f/n ] softly thanking him and lifting her dress to prevent herself from tripping. Ryusui had started to finish up the list, everyone that was called soon making themselves comfortable on board. As [ f/n ] looked around the deck, she noticed that Kinro was the last person to board the ship before the ramp started being taken in. She raises her brow in confusion as she looks around, walking up to Kinro and stopping him within his tracks. 

“Where’s your brother?”

“Well..”

“We’re sailing off!! Unexplored by humans, to the stone world’s open seas!!” And with the sound Ryusui’s voice echoing throughout the ship, the boat had started to move on its own, the crowd soon waving their goodbyes. As [ f/n ] looked over the edge to wave to her friends, Kinro stood beside her with a distant look in his eye as a sigh left his lips. She looked at him for a moment before turning to look at Senku who was speaking with Kohaku and the others. Taking this chance, she walks up to him and places her hand over his arm to catch his attention. The white haired scientist looks over and tilts his head in confusion before [ f/n ] slightly nods her head towards Kinro. Understanding the meaning, Senku walks over to an intercom and opens the hatch.

“Ukyo, scan the radar towards the main land just a bit longer before moving forward.”

_ “Why?” _

“Just a hunch.” After Ukyo agrees and does what he was told, [ f/n ] smiles before turning to Kinro and patting him on the shoulder. He looked at her and was about to ask if something was wrong but was immediately interrupted when Ukyo claimed something was in the water. Kinro gasps as he walks over towards the edge and watches Taiju dive into the water. Once he was pulled onto the deck, Taiju nearly drags a bummed out Ginrou as he looks at everyone on deck with a dejected look.

“Heh, not bad.Ginrou, you bastard.”

“How unexpected! I guess you’re not such a scummy guy after all!

“I believed in you, Ginrou!”

Ginrou sits in the middle as the others praise him for his bravery, the poor boy soaked to the bone as you could literally see his soul leaving his body. [ f/n ] walks up to Ginrou with a dry cloth, placing it on top of his head and catching his attention. He looks up towards the [ h/c ] colored girl as she smiles at him, making his cheeks flush.

“Great job, Ginrou. Let’s work together, shall we?”

The blonde haired kid nearly explodes from the amount his heart was racing, hearts in his eyes as he stood up to take a hold of [ f/n ]’s hands. She blinks as Ginrou nearly leans close with a smug look and does his best attempt at a kiss on the lips. At this point, Senku laughs as he grabs with a death grip and yanks Ginrou away from [ f/n ]. 

“And for your brave act, you’ll clean the dock. Isn’t that right, Ginrou?”

“Y-Y-YEP YOU’RE RIGHT!! I’LL GET STARTED RI-RIGHT NOW!!”

The blonde haired warrior laughs nervously before grabbing the nearest tool and getting to work. Senku was still giving him a death grin, little neurowaves radiating from his body as it was making his way towards Ginrou. [ f/n ] sighs before placing her hand on his shoulder, calming him down as she stands in front of him to be within his line of sight instead. Senku looks down at her with a pout before shrugging it off, turning around and sparring the poor boy for now. 

“Where are we headed first? Are we going straight to the other side of the world?”

“No. Our next destination is obvious. Treasure Island!!”

Listening to Senku’s theory, [ f/n ] crosses her arms as she listens to him explain his reasoning on why Treasure Island was the key. The [ h/c ] haired girl looks out toward the sea and remembers the time back in Ishigami village, listening to him re-telling the stories Ruri heard of. As [ f/n ] listens to Senku’s claim, she feels a sudden tap on her shoulder and the presence of someone behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she’s met with a bald man carrying a large shield on his back, looking down at his feet a bit nervously as he meets her gaze. She greets him softly, the man bowing in response before [ f/n ] patiently waits for him to speak.

“Umm..about what Senku and the others are talking about right now..”

“Ah, you mean about Treasure Island? Is something the matter?”

As [ f/n ] observes his little gimmicks, she decides to lead him away from the group as she noticed they were creating quite a ruckus. She could tell that he was still a bit shy, but he was doing his best to open up about this topic.

“I..I’m not from Ishigami Village..actually..I’m thankful villagers from Ishigami village had found me that day.”

“Ah..that explains why you didn’t introduce me with a name earlier.” The man looked at her and was slightly surprised at how calm she was. Feeling more at ease, he then starts to explain his true reason why he was suddenly revealing his identity now. 

“I was going to mention this to Gen, but people have told me that you’re really kind and they were true.”

“Ah, thank you. It’s what I can do, honestly.” Chuckling from the statement, [ f/n ] soon leads herself back inside the rowdy group, calling the white haired scientist. After hearing the call of his name, he looks over his shoulder as [ f/n ] waves him over. Senku raises a brow as he walks over, standing in front of the bald man and [ f/n ] as she gestures her hand towards him.

“This young man has something he’d like to tell you.”

“Wait..! You’re..who again?? Seriously, why can’t I remember your name?”

“Obviously you can’t remember, he doesn’t have one.” People were immediately starting to recognize him, agreeing with Kohaku as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

“My real name is..Soyuz. I drifted onto the shore of the Ishigami village when I was really young. Thankfully, those villagers that raised me felt pity and decided to take me in.”

Everyone nearly screamed in shock from the sudden confession, Soyuz looking up at Senku with a determined look as he took a hold of the strap wrapped over his chest. He looks down at the map that was displayed in the middle of the room and looks for anything that could help him.

“I can..try to lead you to my birthplace. The treasure island that you’re seeking.”

“Well..for better or worse, I’m truly grateful. We got a 10 billion percent certain piece of information! Treasure Island is not uninhabited at all!!”

“And there he goes, off in his little world again.” [ f/n ] whispers to herself as she witnesses Senku and the others start getting to work. She let out a soft sigh before turning around to head back towards the main deck, but was caught off guard from the sudden sound coming from the ship’s radar. Turning her head towards the machine, Ukyo does the same as he reads the signs it was giving off, a cold sweat running down his cheek.

“Umm, guys. I’m picking up something.” Taking the spare telescope, [ f/n ] leaves the captain’s dock and runs outside. Finding herself at the front of the ship, she looks up ahead and starts to notice a cliff coming from the upside of the ocean. 

“No way..” [ f/n ] whispers in disbelief as she slowly pulls the telescope away. Soon, everyone had followed her and watched the plot of land appear in front of them; a few people cheering and a few just as confused as she was.

“Well that was easier than expected.”

“Yeah..a bit  _ too  _ easy, don’t you think?” Senku hums before Ryusui and the others gather together, Francois right behind him with a large stack of drago bills. 

“Let’s hurry and find that treasure!”

“Not under my supervision you aren’t.” Nikki sticks her foot out to trip Yo and Magma from leaving the ship, grabbing the back of their shirts to bring them back. Senku puts the telescope away and places his hands on his hip, looking towards the power team.

“Form a reconnaissance team!” 

As soon as Senku has declared what was happening to the other crewmates, Ryusui suddenly slams a barrel out of nowhere, nearly scaring the life out of [ f/n ]. She jumps with fright as she looks at the man sitting on top of the barrel, casually suggesting that it’s best for the team to be a form of four people. Once that was established; Senku, Gen, Soyuz and Kohaku were getting ready to set sail onto the new strange land. Starting up the motorboat, all four members climbed aboard and safely made their way onto the island. [ f/n ] watched as she noticed Senku looking back, giving him a small smile and waving towards his direction. With a smile being returned, he faces forward and follows Kohaku, Gen and Soyuz right behind him before they disappear into the forest. [ f/n ] was standing right beside Ryusui who then stood up from his seat and let out a sigh.

“Now that they’re gone..”

Ryusui lifts the barrel, only for Suika to roll out from underneath. [ f/n ] blinked in shock as she rolled to her side and hid behind her legs, [ f/n ] instinctively placing her hand on top of the watermelon helmet she wore.

“Suika, what are you doing here?”

“Suika also wanted to be useful! Suika’s specialty is scouting and reconnaissance!”

“I can’t allow that! Any stowaways found on board must clearly be sent back home! Until we get back to Japan, you’re gonna stay put quietly here on the ship!!”

Ryusui raises his voice as he looks at her, Suika slightly flinching from the tone before looking down in shame. The man starts to walk away, Francois and [ f/n ] looking at each other before they give the [ h/c ] haired girl a smile. Francois slightly bends down towards Suika’s height, patting her head gently to catch her attention.

“This is a highly dangerous mission which involves scouting a completely unknown land. As the captain, there is no way he would risk the life of a child for that. Master Ryusui’s harsh words are all for the sake of your own safety, Suika.”

“Yes, I agree with Francois, Suika. It was a bold move for you to sneak onto the ship, but we’re only doing this to look after you. We care about you a lot.”

Suika looks up at [ f/n ], the [ h/c ] haired girl bending down to pat her head. Although she wore the helmet, her mood was soon lifted when she looked at her and wrapped her tiny arms around her. [ f/n ] chuckles and hugs her back, letting her go as soon as Taiju calls her over. As she stands at her full height, she turns around to meet with Ryusui who was speaking with Francois. 

“Do you think Senku would want to travel all the way back to Japan just to drop off Suika, Ryusui?”

“Honestly, Senku is probably just going to go along with it. He wouldn't want to go back.”

[ f/n ] laughs as she nods her head in agreement, crossing her arms under her chest before shifting her weight on her other leg. As she was about to start another conversation, a chill ran down her spine. [ f/n ] stiffens from the sudden uneasiness, slowly turning her head to inspect the main deck and look for anything suspicious.Without her realizing it, Ryusui had also noticed this same uneasiness, quickly checking around to see the imposter. Then, from the corner of his eye; he saw the figure of someone watching the boat from the cliff. 

“[ f/n ]..do you see that too?”

“I can sense it..are they here?”

As soon as Ryusui agreed, something was launched into the sky that caught their attention. Out of impulse, Ryusui quickly grabbed [ f/n ] and pulled her to his chest, Ukyo aiming his bow towards the threat. Ryusui then sweeps [ f/n ] into his arms, a yelp leaving her lips as he runs over to the edge of the ship and makes the girl panic. 

“Ry-Ryusui-san!?”

“I want you to live, [ f/n ]!! Swim and find Senku for help!”

As soon as he reaches the edge, he tosses [ f/n ] into the ocean with no hesitation. She screams and looks back, trying to reach out for him. 

“RYUSUI!!”

The sound of her body splashing into the water made Ryusui look up to where the threat was. And just like before, a bright green light had started to emit from the sky. Looking around, Ryusui notices Suika brushing the deck and makes a run for it. The girl looks at him a bit confused before he kicks the watermelon with full momentum, away from the ship. 

“Hahaha!! Live Suika!! Find Senku and [ f/n ] and seek help! Tell them how we were attacked!!” 

His laugh echoes until he was consumed by the petrifying beam once again, capturing everyone else in the process. The watermelon flew, while [ f/n ]’s body was floating underwater. With her blurred vision, she recognized the familiar beam and started to swim further towards the ocean floor until it was to get hard to breathe. Taking a quick glance, she realized the bean had stopped where it was before it retracted and disappeared. [ f/n ]’s brows crease together before she swims up for air, inhaling the oxygen back into her lungs. Taking a look at the ship, she swims towards it and climbs up to bring her back on board again. She lets out a heaved sigh as she takes a moment to rest before looking up from her lap. Her eyes widened as she gasped, her mouth covering her shock as she looked at all of her friends’ petrified bodies. 

“Oh no..”


End file.
